By Satish Pratapneni, Director – R&D, Lenovo India
National Engineers’ Day is more than a marker on the calendar. It is a mirror that reminds us of the road travelled and the uncharted highways ahead. As someone who has walked the corridors of engineering schools in Arizona and the R&D labs of India, I see this moment as one of both pride and urgency. Pride, because Indian engineers are shaping solutions for the world. Urgency, because the scale of change we face in intelligence, sustainability, and semiconductors, demands a level of depth and discipline that will define the next generation of progress.
India today produces close to 1.5 million engineers every year, which is more than any other country. This vast pool of talent forms the bedrock of our workforce and is increasingly the backbone of global innovation. And with India delivering its first fully “Made in India” semiconductor chips, we stand at a powerful inflection point — one that will define the contours of the next technological era.
Engineering Intelligence, Not Just Algorithms
When we speak of artificial intelligence, it is tempting to reduce it to algorithms and datasets. But the truth is, AI is only as powerful as the systems that carry it. Indian engineers are now building those very foundations, i.e., high-performance servers that can scale across predictive healthcare, resilient supply chains, and connected agriculture. From genome sequencing in healthcare to real-time logistics that ensured vaccine delivery at the height of the pandemic, and IoT-driven irrigation systems that help farmers conserve water, the impact is visible and measurable. It takes more than code; it takes architecture, signal integrity, thermal design, and a relentless focus on reliability. What intrigues and fascinates me is not just the applications but the audacity of design and the conviction that systems built in India can serve billions across continents.
Sustainability as an Engineering Discipline
The word sustainability often drifts into the language of policy. For engineers, it is far more tangible. It is the watt saved in a cooling system, the recycled drop of water in a data center, the line of code that optimises energy draw. Across India, engineers are imbuing the blueprint with the motif of sustainability for designing power-efficient hardware, advancing renewable grids, and developing smarter water and waste solutions for our growing cities. These are not afterthoughts. They are choices made at the drawing board, long before a product is shipped or a system deployed. That mindset shift is perhaps the most important contribution Indian engineers are making to the global climate challenge.
The Semiconductor Imperative
Every great technological leap in history has rested on the shoulders of semiconductors. Engineers here are entering the crucible of chip design, testing, and fabrication planning which are areas that demand both intellectual precision and national resolve. A self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem is not built overnight. It requires decades of accumulated expertise. But each package designed, each layout tested, each failure analysed is a step toward resilience. In this, Indian engineers are not just participants; they are custodians of a future where technology independence is inseparable from economic sovereignty. And as the “Make in India” initiative gathers momentum, engineers are uniquely positioned to transform this vision into world-class products and platforms.
The Landscape: Promise and Pressure
There is no paucity of opportunity. Global R&D partnerships are deepening. Government missions are laying a foundation for scale. Startups are challenging conventions in electric mobility, clean energy, and electronics. Domestic demand continues to surge. Yet the challenges are not trifling.
Consider semiconductors alone — with investments scaling up and a projected market surge to over $100 billion by 2030, the potential is undeniable. But this promise comes with pressure. R&D spending in India still stands at just 0.7% of GDP — far below global benchmarks. Core skills in chip design and micro-fabrication remain in short supply. These gaps, coupled with fragile IP protection and stiff global competition, are formidable impediments. We must confront them with candour. Pretending otherwise would be a disservice to the engineers who deserve clarity as much as celebration.
What It Will Take
For India to stand not just as a participant but as a hub of engineering excellence, three imperatives stand out:
- First, deep specialisation: The courage to go narrow, to master what is hard, whether in AI hardware, semiconductor physics, or sustainable materials.
- Second, tighter bonds between academia and industry: Innovation thrives when classrooms and labs are porous to the realities of manufacturing and markets.
- Third, infrastructure and IP: Engineers need not just inspiration but the guardrails and resources to turn ideas into defensible breakthroughs.
A Collective Responsibility
The story of India’s engineers is no longer one of quiet contribution. It is one of visible impact and global consequence. On this National Engineers’ Day, we should honour not only what has been achieved but also what remains unfinished. Engineers are more than builders of systems; they are shapers of society. And the choices they make today in design rooms, on test benches, in long nights of simulation and review — will determine whether India emerges as a true engineering nation.