In this episode of SparX, Mukesh Bansal talks with Abhay Karandikar, Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology and former Director of IIT Kanpur. They break down how India can build core technology at home, move research from labs to real products, and grow deep tech in AI, quantum, space, biotech, energy and medical tech.

They speak about:

How capital will be deployed through trusted second-level fund managers like AIFs, DFIs, TDB, BIRAC and IIT research parks

Priority areas, from energy transition to biotech, quantum, robotics, space and defence tech

The path from basic research to product, including the TRL 4 to 6 valley of death

India’s AI plan, including language models, curated datasets and GPU infrastructure

The national quantum mission across computing, communication, sensing and materials

If you are building deep tech in India or tracking where the next breakthroughs may come from, this conversation is a must-watch.