"India must leverage this technology to become a developed country by 2047. If not, we risk growing old without ever having grown rich," says Secretary S. Krishnan, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for the Government of India.

With 1.4 billion people, India has a narrow window to reach developed-country status by 2047. Leaders stress that AI, frugal innovation, and low-cost solutions could unlock that opportunity—and offer lessons for the wider Global South.

Watch more Global Stage coverage from the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly here: gzeromedia.com/globalstage

More For You

Alysa Liu of Team USA during Women Single Skating Short Program team event at the Winter Olympic Games in Milano Cortina, Italy, on February 6, 2026.
Raniero Corbelletti/AFLO

Brazilian skiers, American ICE agents, Israeli bobsledders – this is just a smattering of the fascinating characters that will be present at this year’s Winter Olympics. Yet the focus will be a different country, one that isn’t formally competing: Russia.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), appeals for a candidate during a street speech of the House of Representatives Election Campaign in Shintomi Town, Miyazaki Prefecture on February 6, 2026. The Lower House election will feature voting and counting on February 8th.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

Japanese voters head to the polls on Sunday in a snap election for the national legislature’s lower house, called just three months into Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s tenure.