Department of Science and Technology (DST) Secretary Prof. Umesh V. Waghmare on Thursday, 29 October 2026, said that collaboration among industry, academia, researchers, start-ups and technology users will be critical to advancing India's autonomous systems, Physical Artificial Intelligence (AI) and robotics. He was speaking at the Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation Conclave (ESTIC) 2026 in New Delhi.

Waghmare underlined that such collaboration is also essential to translate scientific research into solutions with real societal impact — a goal that, he argued, cannot be achieved in silos.

DST's National Mission on Cyber-Physical Systems

Waghmare highlighted the DST's National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, noting that technology innovation hubs have been established at 25 leading academic institutions to foster interaction among academia, industry and start-ups and to facilitate the commercialisation of research. He noted that Phase I of the mission is scheduled to conclude in December 2027, and said that discussions and feedback from ESTIC participants would help inform plans for the mission's second phase.

Physical AI Is a Systems Engineering Challenge, Says NITI Aayog

NITI Aayog Member Prof. Abhay Karandikar told the conclave that Physical AI is not merely an artificial intelligence challenge — it is fundamentally a systems engineering challenge. He stressed that the successful functioning of intelligent physical systems depends on several interconnected components, including reliable sensors, efficient actuators, real-time computing, robust control algorithms, low-latency communication and energy-efficient hardware.

Prof. Karandikar drew a sharp distinction between Physical AI and conversational AI tools: errors involving robots operating in factories or autonomous vehicles can have immediate physical consequences. He argued that reliability, verification, safety, security and trustworthiness must therefore remain central to research and development in this field.

India's Strategic Opportunity in Autonomous Systems

Prof. Karandikar pointed to India's existing strengths — in systems engineering, electronics, manufacturing, embedded systems, design, telecommunications and software — as a foundation on which the country can build competitive autonomous systems. Integrating advanced intelligence and algorithms into these capabilities, he said, could enable the development of more reliable, safe and trustworthy autonomous technologies in robotics, autonomous vehicles and other cyber-physical systems.

He also suggested that the next phase of the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems could serve as a vehicle for a dedicated Physical AI Mission, building directly on the capabilities developed under the existing mission.

What ESTIC 2026 Debated

Eminent experts at the conclave examined how Autonomous Systems, Physical AI and Robotics would reshape scientific research and technological innovation in the near future. This comes amid a global race to operationalise physical AI — systems that perceive, decide and act in the real world — with major programmes under way in the United States, China and the European Union. India's conclave signals a growing institutional awareness that the country must move beyond software-led AI strengths into hardware-embedded intelligence.

As Phase I of the cyber-physical systems mission nears its close, the direction of Phase II — and whether a standalone Physical AI Mission takes shape — is likely to define India's autonomous systems trajectory through the end of the decade.