
Chandigarh [India], September 29 (ANI): Japanese Nobel laureate Takaaki Kajita praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for Indo-Japan collaboration in science and technology, highlighting India’s remarkable rise in the Global Innovation Index (GII), according to an official statement.
Kajita, a renowned physicist, credited India’s progress to the Modi government’s strategic focus on research and development (R&D). He noted the country’s rapid advancement in the Global Innovation Index over the past 11 years.
During his recent visit to Japan, PM Modi called for joint collaboration between Indian talent and Japanese technology to spark a next-generation tech revolution. Kajita, along with 20 prominent Japanese scientists, signed a resolution supporting Modi’s vision for Indo-Japan partnerships in research and innovation.
Emphasizing the importance of deepening cooperation in science and technology, Kajita said such a partnership could harness mutual strengths to drive innovation and future breakthroughs. “Japan should learn from India on the rapid advancement in the field of Research & Innovation,” said Kajita, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2015 for his discovery of neutrino oscillations.
Kajita made the remarks while speaking at the international conference on India-Japan Next Generation Science and Technology Partnership: Academic and Research, hosted by Chandigarh University and the University of Tokyo in Japan’s capital.
“India’s rapid advancement in the Global Innovation Index from rank 91 in 2014 to 38 in 2024 has surprised the world. Japan should learn from India how the government should focus on the field of R&D,” Kajita said.
India’s climb from 91st to 38th position in the GII highlights its growing stature in global innovation.
Separately, on September 9, Kazuo Mike Fujisawa, Representative of the Japan Iron & Steel Federation, told ANI on the sidelines of the ISA Steel Conclave in New Delhi that many Japanese steel companies are showing interest in India. “India has high steel production growth, and its population is growing, so it has high steel consumption per capita,” he said.
India and Japan have long been trade partners in the steel industry, and experts suggest the partnership in technology and innovation could mirror this success. (ANI)