Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw noted that the history of the semiconductor industry's development in India has been quite fascinating. Initially, there were significant doubts regarding this sector, but the government's clear vision and honesty allowed these concerns to turn into reality.
During a meeting with CEOs of global semiconductor companies, the Union Minister presented them with the current state of affairs in the country with great respect.
In 1956, the film 'Bedari' was screened in Pakistani cinemas. It achieved enormous success, filling all halls. This film, directed by Rafiq Rizvi and starring Ragini and Santosh Kumar, became a blockbuster thanks to its songs, especially the song 'Ao Bachcho Seir Karen Tumko' performed by Salim Razi. The song became extremely popular among children across Pakistan.
However, the film was soon banned. Some viewers felt a strange sensation, as if they had seen this film before, and discovered that not only the plot but also the melodies of the songs were familiar to them. It soon turned out that 'Bedari' was an exact copy of the Indian film 'Jagriti', released in 1954, and 'Jagriti' itself was a remake of the Bengali film 'Parivartan'.
The most interesting connection in this story relates to Ratan Kumar. His real name was Syed Nazir Ali Rizvi, and he was considered a popular child actor in the Bombay film industry. Born in 1941, he began performing at the age of just five. Family friends and writer Krishna Chander gave him the role of a child actor in the film 'Rakh'. After this, Ratan Kumar worked in several famous films, such as 'Boot Polish' and 'Baiju Bawra', before getting the role of Shakti in Satyen Bose's film 'Jagriti'.
When 'Jagriti' was released in 1954, Ratan Kumar was about 13 years old. Two years later, in 1956, he moved to Pakistan with his family. Many relatives of his family had already settled in Pakistan after the partition. Limited job opportunities in India also contributed to the family's decision to move to Pakistan.
After arriving in Pakistan, Ratan Kumar's elder brother, Wazir Ali Rizvi, founded a production company called 'Hayat'. The first film of this company was 'Bedari', and it was here that the story took an unexpected turn. The film 'Jagriti', in which Ratan Kumar himself acted, was recreated in Pakistan under a new title and in a new context.
'Bedari' featured Ratan Kumar in two roles. He played Ajay, whose name was changed to Jaffar in the Pakistani film. Furthermore, the character Shakti from 'Jagriti' was renamed Sabar Ali. Notably, despite the change in names, the essence of the characters was preserved: both Ajay and Jaffar mean 'victory' in Hindi and Urdu, respectively.
However, the similarity between the two films was not limited to the plot and characters. The most striking similarity was in the songs. In 'Bedari', the original melodies and harmonies were largely retained, but the lyrics were altered. Instead of Indian nationalist references, Pakistani nationalist motifs were added.
For instance, the famous song from 'Jagriti' sounded like: 'Ao Bachcho Tumhen Dikhaen Janki Hindustan Ki'. In 'Bedari', this song was changed to 'Ao Bachcho Seir Karen Tumko Pakistan Ki'. Similarly, where the original featured 'Vande Mataram', 'Bedari' used 'Pakistan Zindabad'.
Another song from 'Jagriti' contained the lines: 'De Di Hme Azadi Bina Kadg Bina Dhaal, Sabarmati Ke Sant Tune Kar Diya Kamal'. In 'Bedari', these lines were replaced with 'De Di Hme Azadi Ki Duniya Hui Haran, Ai Kaide-Azm Tera Ehsan Ha Ehsan'. Thus, instead of Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali Jinnah appeared.
This process was not limited to a couple of songs; in many songs of the film, the original melodies were preserved while the lyrics were changed, replacing the Indian context with a Pakistani one. How was the truth about 'Bedari' revealed?
Initially, the similarity between the two films might have gone unnoticed because there was a ban on the public screening of Indian films in Pakistan at the time. Consequently, most of the Pakistani audience could not see 'Jagriti'. Later, a member of the Pakistani censorship board informed Donna about this situation, noting that Lahore filmmakers created 'Bedari' in 1956, which was a carbon copy of 'Jagriti' in terms of plot and songs, utilizing the ban on the import and public screening of Indian films.
Initially, 'Bedari' enjoyed great commercial success in cinemas. However, after some time, viewers began to realize its true nature, understanding that the film they were watching bore a resemblance to a previously existing Indian film in terms of plot and melodies. Following this, protests against its public screening began, and the situation escalated to the point where the Pakistani censorship board immediately banned 'Bedari' and restricted the screening of its songs.
Did this affect Ratan Kumar's career? For a long time, there have been speculations that after moving to Pakistan, Ratan Kumar sought to establish himself in the local film industry, and perhaps that is why he participated in creating a film similar to 'Jagriti' in a new form. Nevertheless, Ratan Kumar, being a very popular child actor, could not achieve the same level of success as a leading adult actor.
Some economic reforms yield immediate results, while others transform the very structure of the economy, creating opportunities that bear fruit over decades. The government of Narendra Modi's decision to open strategic and technological sectors to private companies falls into the latter category.
For many years, areas such as aerospace, space industry, and advanced electronics were entirely state-dependent. The private sector had limited scope for building its strength, making large-scale investments, or competing globally. The Modi government recognized that for India to become a developed economy, it could not remain the primary player in all strategic industries; instead, it needed to become a supporting element, developing policies, incentives, and infrastructure that allow private capital and business to significantly advance India's potential.
These changes have begun to shape a new industrial landscape in fields such as space, semiconductors, data centers, electronics, solar panel manufacturing, and aerospace.
The scale of this opportunity is enormous. According to a recent Jefferies assessment, India's growing industrial revolution could boost the country's space economy to approximately $45 billion by 2030. The data center sector has investment potential of around $45 billion. About $20 billion has already been invested in semiconductors, with an additional incentive program amounting to $13 billion. Furthermore, by the end of this decade, it is expected that 90% of the solar panel manufacturing supply chain will be established in India. As India deepens its involvement in manufacturing and global supply chains, the electronics and aerospace industries are also opening up vast prospects.
These figures should not be viewed in isolation, as they pertain to different sectors and different timeframes. However, they clearly demonstrate that India is simultaneously creating numerous new, multi-billion dollar industrial systems.
The space sector is the best example of what happens when government policy and private enterprise converge. The decision to open the space sector to private participation in 2020 completely transformed the industry. Startups like Skyroot, Agnikul, Pixel, and Digantara are now manufacturing rockets, satellites, earth observation technologies, and other items previously restricted to the public sector. The Indian space economy is projected to grow from approximately $8.4 billion to $44 billion by 2033, including about $11 billion in exports.
The significance of this extends far beyond statistics. India is creating its own commercial space sector, where the technical might of the public sector can be combined with private capital, new ideas, and speed. This model is now being applied in other strategic domains.
Semiconductors are critically important as they form the foundation of modern industries: automotive, smartphones, telecommunications, artificial intelligence (AI), defense systems, and industrial machinery. Therefore, India's mission in semiconductors is not limited to chip production. It aims to create an ecosystem encompassing chip manufacturing, packaging, and testing, chip design, necessary components, equipment, and the entire related industry. The investment of about $20 billion already poured into this sector, along with the $13 billion incentive package, marks the beginning of a process toward self-sufficiency in an area where excessive dependence on foreign nations was a serious weakness.
Electronics demonstrates how successful this approach can be. Electronics manufacturing in India has grown from approximately ₹1.9 lakh crore in 2014–2015 to ₹13.11 lakh crore in 2025–2026. Electronics exports have increased from approximately ₹38,000 crore to ₹4.24 lakh crore. Mobile phone exports have risen from about ₹1,500 crore to approximately ₹2.59 lakh crore. India has transitioned from a country that primarily imported mobile phones to an exporting nation, and nearly all phones sold in the country are now manufactured domestically.
This is the crucial path: manufacturing goods domestically, strengthening the entire component ecosystem, scaling up production, and then competing in global markets.
Data centers represent another emerging area. Data center capacity in India is growing very rapidly and could increase from 2 gigawatts to 5–10 gigawatts in the coming years. This could generate investment opportunities worth around $45 billion in power, cooling, construction, network technology, and digital infrastructure. As AI, cloud computing, and digital services grow, India's engineering talent, digital adoption, and low cost could establish it as a major digital infrastructure hub in this sector.
Solar panel manufacturing adds another vital strategic link. Establishing the entire solar energy supply chain domestically reduces reliance on imported components and fosters an industry that is rapidly evolving in global markets.
