India, Aug. 12 -- For most of the last three decades, India competed on scale. A young workforce, a fast-growing entrepreneurial base and an ability to execute at volume turned the country into the world's back office, a manufacturing destination, and one of the fastest growing large economies. That approach worked well, and it is still working. But it is no longer enough on its own.

The next round of global competition will be decided less by who can build more and faster, and more by who discovers something first, patents it first, and gets it to market faster. Artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing and clean energy are changing what counts as economic leadership. Scientific capability now matters as much as industri...