India's dream of techade will be fulfilled by innovators: PM Modi

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said domestic patent filings have outscored the country's foreign patent filings as he expressed confidence that India's dream of "techade" -- his call for Indian technologies to dominate the decade -- will be fulfilled on the strength of its innovators.

This underscores the country's increasing scientific capabilities, he said in the first episode of 'Mann ki Baat' in the new year. Modi has in the past used "techade" to describe the decade being dominated by homegrown technologies. He said India's rank in patent filling is seventh globally while it is fifth in trademark registration. India's patent registration has risen by 50 per cent in the last five years, the prime minister said, noting its ranking in the global innovation index has surged to 40 from below 80 in 2015.

"I am confident that India's dream of techade will be fulfilled by its innovators and their patents," he said. The premier Indian Institute of Science had 145 patents in 2022 which is a rare record, Modi said. In the broadcast, he informed people that the total number of Ramsar sites, an international recognition for wetlands, in the country has increased to 75 from 26 in 2014.

Lauding local communities, Modi said they deserve praise for preserving biodiversity. "It is also a tribute to our age-old culture and tradition of living in harmony with nature. These wetlands of India are also an example of our natural potential. Chilika Lake of Odisha is known to shelter more than 40 water-bird species.