Today on May 11th 2022, India commemorates the twentieth anniversary of India's nuclear tests in Pokhran in 1998, which saw India become the world's sixth nuclear power. Celebrated as National Technology Day, it is an opportune moment to acknowledge and appreciate  the significance of science and technology in economic advancement.  The day honors not just scientists and engineers, but anybody who is engaged in creating, and innovating, while also ensuring that its benefits reach the general population.  

With a vision towards sustainability, and mission for “net zero'', this year's theme is set as “Integrated Approach in Science & Technology for a Sustainable Future”.  The theme was proposed by Union Minister Jitendra Singh.  

 Here is what India's  technology leaders from the industry had to say about National Technology Day and its importance.

Sudha KV, Vice President, Dell Technologies, India

“In todays’ digital age, technology is driving human progress and the driving force behind technological growth comes with introducing disruptive ideas. Dell Technologies continues to be one of the global leaders in producing server tech, and India has a key role to play in this. Our Bengaluru R&D center has been instrumental in bringing about cutting-edge technology in the server portfolio. Right from conceptualization of the servers, to product upgrade and then retiring the offerings, and thinking about the next product and technology trends, the Bengaluru R&D center is the locus of innovation. Having filed over 100 patents in the last 3-4 years, the team at the Bengaluru center has been dedicatedly helping Dell Technologies meet their goals of driving growth through technology.

To integrate software and hardware with specific capabilities, the R&D center runs about 7 petabytes of networking traffic, 1600 virtual machines and 1400 test configurations to mimic all possible customer scenarios before making solutions available to global markets. With highly skilled engineers, distinguished technical staff and a dedicated team of designers and developers, the team is able to churn out adaptive and autonomous modern infrastructure solutions aligned with modern workloads which meet the customer interests in the areas of cloud computing, AI, analytics and edge computing. Our aim is to increase efficiency and boost performance of end-user computing with new developments and improvements to their PowerEdge portfolio, which allow customers to bring the computing power closer to their data, and our R&D center is at the cornerstone of these innovations.”

Ravi Chhabria, Managing Director, NetApp India

“At NetApp, innovation is at the heart of everything we do, and it all starts with our ability to harness the power of the data we have and use it to change people's lives. Management of storage, regardless of where it exists across clouds, infrastructure, and as a service, has become a vital competence for all enterprises as India experiences the age of cloud adoption and data explosion.

NetApp is many years ahead of its closest competitors in the fight to modernise and transform in the cloud. Because of its unique ability to function smoothly across hybrid clouds, NetApp's flagship data management software, ONTAP, is immensely popular with its customers throughout the world. Our secret sauce is ONTAP, which was co-developed by the company's Bengaluru R&D team.

Our industry-leading storage infrastructure capabilities may be expanded to any format – on premises and in the cloud – and even between cloud service providers using ONTAP. This is the cornerstone for hybrid multi-cloud, and it also simplifies the management of both structured and unstructured data, reaping tremendous benefits in terms of manageability, storage efficiency, and interoperability. The team in India is responsible for a large portion of this effort.

On National Technology Day, we look back with pride on how our innovations work to make our customers take advantage of technology at an accelerated pace.”

Shriranga Mulay, Vice President, Product Development & Engineering, NTT Ltd. in India.

“Digital technologies will be critical in building a sustainable, high-performance, and safer future for all. AI, cloud, cybersecurity, and integrated ecosystems connected with high-performance networking and computing are going to be the facilitators of the future normal of diversity and global inclusion. The majority of the tech companies including NTT are taking a range of steps to use advanced technology to create solutions that improve efficiency and reduce carbon footprint. There is an obligation to make the world better connected, and sustainable for future generations.

Switching to renewable energy generation, and deploying technology that reduces the consumption of power as well as other natural resources such as water, are some of the key steps adopted as a part of a holistic and integrated approach for a sustainable future. The aim is to not only move towards Net-Zero and other sustainability goals ourselves but also create technologies that help other players in different verticals to achieve the same objectives.  We aim to use technology solutions that help protect, restore and regenerate the natural world, conserving precious natural resources for future generations.”

Rajesh Uttamchandani, Director, Syska Group

"Brands have been sharpening their expertise in cutting-edge technology as it has altered our lives, from the evolution of voice assistants to the introduction of smart products. The technological era has charged an exhilarating stage in the smart product market, delivering consumers with unique and improved smart home technologies which are leaning towards an interconnected, easy-to-control habitat. Lifestyle patterns are constantly shifting, not just as a result of external forces, but also because of shifting consumer patterns fuelled by the rapid growth and adoption of innovative technology. Hence, brands today are offering products basis evolving necessities and are prioritizing around incorporating technology for a sustainable environment.

At Syska, we focus on delivering technology-led products that conserve energy and are sustainable. Our LED products save energy up to 70% by application, and our wires are made based on Indo-European technology which saves up to 3% energy. In addition, our fans are built with BLDC technology which saves up to 50% energy. As we celebrate National Technology Day on 11th May, we believe there is a need to celebrate the innovative technology that focuses on making conscious products for future living.”

Shaina Ganapathy, Head of Community Outreach, Embassy Group

“As a country, we are steadfastly moving towards a digital tomorrow. Technology has become extremely important for businesses looking to expand on the impact they create. At the Embassy, we believe in empowering students of government schools with the skills for self-development and future employability through holistic and innovative learning programs.

Particularly in this area, technology has enabled us to reach those that are otherwise difficult to reach, and teach in innovative ways that were not thought of before. ‘EdTech’ has brought us smart classrooms, digital learning and evaluation, and a whole plethora of learning content with it. This National Technology Day, we commemorate how technology has enabled us to improve the ways we can support our communities by leaps and bounds – we are excited to watch and learn from its steady growth.”