𝗩𝗶𝗴𝘆𝗮𝗻 𝗗𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮: 𝗣𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗜 - 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗘𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄! The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India presents the August 2026 edition of Vigyan Dhara, titled ‘Physical AI: Augmenting the Future'. It explores the evolution of AI from digital environments to the physical world through robots, drones and autonomous systems. It asks a critical question: is India ready to build-not merely consume-this technology? The edition brings together policy perspectives, ecosystem enablers, deep-tech startups, sectoral applications and standardisation efforts to examine India’s position in the global Physical AI landscape. This edition includes: ➡️ Opening with a Foreword by Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, the edition frames Physical AI as a moment of national consequence and highlights OPSA’s efforts to build capabilities across the full value chain of embodied intelligence. ➡️ Tracing the journey from Karel Čapek’s robots to today’s Vision-Language-Action models, ‘Intelligence, Embodied’ by Mr Rohit Gupta, Chief Technology Officer, OPSA, examines what makes this technological shift different and identifies AI models, simulation and increasingly affordable hardware as key forces driving Physical AI. ➡️ Looking at the ecosystem enabling this transition, ‘Sustaining the World of Autonomous Intellect and Systems’ brings together ARTPARK, Kerala Startup Mission and Maker Village, alongside startups they support in translating deep-tech research into scalable ventures. ➡️ From defence and healthcare to sanitation and agriculture, ‘Transformation of the Physical Space Around Us: Sectoral Adoption and Adaptation’ examines how Physical AI is finding real-world applications while emphasising the need for India to build and own these capabilities. ➡️ ‘DeepTech Startups in Physical AI’ profiles Indian ventures developing indigenous robotics and AI hardware across manufacturing, defence, marine and logistics sectors. ➡️ Through ‘Up Close With: Conversations With the Experts’, General NS Raja Subramani, Chief of Defence Staff, and Mr Sangeet Kumar, CEO, Addverb share perspectives on battlefield autonomy, human-machine teaming and building India’s robotics industry. ➡️ ‘The Policy Architecture Powering India’s Physical AI Ecosystem’ examines the interconnected initiatives supporting sovereign compute, data and hardware capabilities. ➡️ Finally, ‘The Standardisation of Robotics Sector’ highlights India’s growing robotics standards framework and the work underway to enable safe and interoperable adoption. Read the full Vigyan Dhara on: https://lnkd.in/gqNm-JYs Dr (Mrs.) Parvinder Maini | Rohit Gupta | Dr. Sabita Yadav | B. Chagun Basha | Suryanjay Singh | Shakun Shan | Kriti Shanker