New Delhi: Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Friday appealed to students to focus on innovation instead of imitating others and build for the nation to achieve global leadership.

While addressing the audience at ESYA, the tech fest of Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology Delhi, Scindia said that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's visit to the institute last year shows that it is time for India to build AI systems for responsible use in transforming people's lives.

"I urge you to light the fire of innovation, carry forward the spirit of Asia to explore, build, dream and to create an India that is a leader and not a follower. Create an India that is not an imitator but an innovator," Scindia said.

He said IIIT-Delhi, in collaboration with the Department of Telecom, is working on concepts like trustworthy and responsible AI systems.

"AI for me is not only artificial intelligence. AI for me is aspirational India," Scindia said.

The minister, a Stanford Business School alumnus, said many students will go overseas for higher education and appealed to them to return to India after acquiring knowledge to contribute to the nation's growth.

"Contribute with the knowledge that you have acquired and come back with ambition. The brain drain that India went through 40 years ago today is being converted into a brain gain because the opportunity for the next 100 years across the world only lies in India," he said.

Scindia said the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) under the DoT has invested in over 120 futuristic projects spanning quantum computing, terahertz communication, bio-nano systems, indigenous chipsets, and encrypted routers.

He reaffirmed India's goal to emerge as a global leader in 6G and contribute at least 10 percent of global patents by 2030, emphasizing that the heart of this ambitious target lies with India's students.