It’s time for India to re-imagine governance: Tools of technology exist but mindsets need to catch up

This convergence is unprecedented. It can unlock enormous economic value—but it also expands risk exposure at a speed that governments are not prepared to manage.

As India aspires to celebrate the centenary of our independence as a developed nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly reminded us that Viksit Bharat is not just about faster growth. It is about deep transformation. It is about our ability to re-imagine India. For the first time in history, we actually have the tools to do so.

The real question is whether we are equipped to use this power to drive the transformation India needs.

The truth is we are no longer constrained by technology—we are constrained by mindset.

India’s technology foundation itself is strong and inclusive by design. Platforms such as Aadhaar and UPI have become global benchmarks for digital public infrastructure—built with inclusion as its aim and impacting billions of lives.

But the next phase demands much more. We must drive end-to-end transformations across sectors to unlock exponential growth, while re-engineering the social landscape to raise productivity and dignity at every level. The constraint is no longer tools. It is how governments think, plan and execute.

To translate technological capability into real outcomes, we need to drive five fundamental mindset shifts in government—from districts and states to departments at the Centre.

From silos to scale: Across states, innovation is thriving—but largely in pilot programmes. These demonstrate possibility but do not deliver transformation. Scale never happens organically. It must be designed from day one.

Agriculture makes this clear. Despite hundreds of technology pilots, we have not been able to unlock the pathways for exponential gains in crop yields or farmer incomes. The problem is not lack of technology—it is fragmented deployment. Only end-to-end, platform-based approaches across the seed-to-sale lifecycle that cuts across departments can deliver sustained impact.

Equally important is customization. ‘Indian farmers’ are not a homogenous category. Small, medium and mature farmers differ sharply in needs, capital access and tech-readiness. Technology that ignores this diversity fails. Relevance drives adoption. Adoption drives impact and impact enables scale.

From data collection to data-driven action: Data, unlike oil, has zero value when stored. Its value lies in being converted into intelligence that shapes timely decisions and action. India today is data-rich but often insight-poor. If governments do not build decision-intelligence capabilities, others will—and we risk becoming suppliers of raw data while importing intelligence.

This requires investment in analytics, embedding data into core decision workflows (not parallel dashboards) and working on data literacy so that officials use data for judgement, not compliance.

From technology dependence to sovereignty: In today’s geopolitical environment, tech sovereignty is non-negotiable—but it needs a long-term outlook and uncompromising commitment.

True sovereignty means owning critical intellectual property, shaping global standards and controlling key supply chains. It demands mission-driven indigenous R&D that would help India evolve from being a service-led adopter to a product-making nation.

The imperative is clear: Chart a national roadmap with uncompromising commitment. Prioritize R&D for resilience and forge trusted partnerships that do not require absolute control. Without this clarity, sovereignty will remain aspirational.

From tech-augmented services to stronger policy design: Globally, governments are moving beyond using technology to merely digitize services. They are embedding advanced technologies directly into policy design and decision-making. Tools such as digital twins now allow policies to be simulated and stress-tested before rollout—reducing risk, improving outcomes and increasing trust.

Governments, therefore, must build end-to-end decision systems that embed intelligence into the core working of the state. This must be matched by continuous capacity development, not one-time training—via platforms like IGOT (or Integrated Government Online Training) for ongoing learning and tech fluency. This must be Task No. 1 for every state.

From reactive to proactive risk management: The most critical shift is moving from reacting to risks to anticipating them. Today’s risks are no longer limited to IT systems. Cyber threats target national infrastructure and supply chains. Social risks include cognitive warfare and large-scale workforce disruption. Emerging risks—from quantum-enabled security breaches to biosecurity—challenge existing frameworks.

Some of the most dangerous risks are operational: fragmented procurement, siloed data, lack of standards and weak institutional capacity.

These are national security and economic resilience risks, not technical issues. The broad imperative for governance is to institutionalize continuous risk-horizon scanning, so that we can anticipate what lies ahead—because the only risks that governments can manage are the ones they see coming.

In sum, technology will continue to advance rapidly. We now face a clear choice: continue with fragmented deployments and their sub-optimal impact, or re-imagine governance itself. If we make this shift with clarity and conviction, technology will not just improve governance, it will lay the foundation for a truly Viksit Bharat.

The author are, respectively, CEO and distinguished fellow, Niti Aayog.