Technology Sovereignty is the Most Important Thing: Dr Murli Manohar Joshi
October 08, 2026
ormer education minister cites building domestic GPU and data infrastructure as the defining test for the country at 21st FICCI Higher Education Summit
Twelfth edition of FICCI's Higher Education Excellence Awards honours institutions turning ambition into impact
NEW DELHI, 8 October 2026: Delivering the keynote at the 21st FICCI Higher Education Summit, Padma Vibhushan Dr Murli Manohar Joshi, former Union Minister for Human Resource Development, said, “Technology sovereignty is the most important thing if you want to progress in the realm of science and technology.”
Alluding to artificial intelligence, Dr Joshi said India generates nearly 20 per cent of global data but hosts only around 3 per cent of global data centre capacity. This asymmetry, he said, leaves Indian researchers, start-ups and public institutions relying on foreign compute and platforms. India, he noted, holds a top-10 spot globally in AI investment and ranks third in the 2025 Global AI Vibrancy ranking. With 16 per cent of the world’s AI talent pool and over 4 million IT professionals, it is “a powerhouse for AI implementation”. The country is rapidly building its own AI infrastructure, he said, with major investments in GPU data centres to reduce reliance on foreign AI models.
Dr Joshi cautioned against treating education as a purely technical exercise. Drawing on the Indian view of the person as body, mind, intellect and soul, he said: “Educational institutions must devise means to produce not just technologically competent individuals, but also ethical beings.” Society faced a choice, he argued, between a contented, creative people and one “busy in the mad race for accumulating more and more material stuff”.
The inaugural session also presented the 12th FICCI Higher Education Excellence Awards.
- University of the Year – Established: University of Mumbai (public institutions); Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala (private institutions). Special jury recognition: Chanakya National Law University.
- University of the Year – Emerging: National Institute of Technology Meghalaya (public institutions); Presidency University, Bengaluru (private institutions).
- Excellence in Globalisation: Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and Ashoka University, joint winners (private institutions). Special jury recognition: Rajarambapu Institute of Technology.
- Excellence in Creating Employment and Entrepreneurship: Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women (public institutions); Vishwakarma Institute of Technology, Pune (private institutions).
- Excellence in Institutional Social Responsibility: Parul University (private institutions).
- Excellence in Research and Innovation: Institute of Chemical Technology (public institutions); Pandit Deendayal Energy University (private institutions).
- Excellence in Financial Sustainability and Student Access: Ashoka University (private institutions).
- Excellence in AI and Digital Transformation in Teaching and Learning: special jury recognition to Vishwakarma University, Manav Rachna University and Chandigarh University (private institutions).
- Excellence in Digital Transformation in Student Success: Gujarat Technological University (public institutions); Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala (private institutions).
- Jury Choice Awards:
- Prof Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University: Personality of the Year Award 2026
- Dr Ramdas M. Pai: Legendary Institution Builder Award
- Prof Sudhir K. Jain: Lifetime Achievement Award 2026
Opening the summit, Mr Anant Swarup, Secretary General FICCI, averred that AI is “changing what a graduate needs to know faster than any syllabus committee can meet”. Enrolment has reached a record 4.5 crore students, he said, but government alone cannot close the gap between a gross enrolment ratio of about 30 per cent and the National Education Policy target of 50 per cent. FICCI would take the summit’s recommendations to the Ministry of Education and the regulators.
Dr Vidya Yeravdekar, Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee & Chancellor, Symbiosis International University, described today’s students as “extremely smart, extremely talented, but very low on resilience”.
Prof (Dr) Padmakumar Nair, Co-Chair, FICCI Higher Education Committee & Vice Chancellor, Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, closed the session by urging universities to pair compassion with excellence: “Compassion without excellence may become indulgence. Excellence without compassion can become exploitation.”
In his Special Address, Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Member, NITI Aayog, noted that today options are plenty and students are living with a delusion of competence, not with actual competence. “If you are only giving qualifications, it is not useful. You have to give them competence.” He added that “to make a learner resilient, your institutions have to be resilient.”
The event also saw the release of the FICCI–EY-Parthenon Report on AI Adoption in Indian Higher Education.
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