A – Z: 47 words for 2047: vocabulary for the future

India in Future Tense: A youth-driven initiative defining the lexicon of tomorrow’s innovations, sustainability, and technological progress.

The “India in Future Tense” dictionary, created by Next Generation India Fellows, highlights trends and innovations expected to dominate India’s centennial.

Download, Google, memo, and stream. These words meant little to an average Indian — or anyone on the planet — in 1947. Today they are part of our everyday reality.

Fast forward to 2047, India’s centennial, will need new nouns, verbs, and phrases to describe our living environment and our evolving world. Anticipating the evolving needs of language and knowledge, the Next Generation India Fellows are taking the lead in shaping a vocabulary for the future. India in Future Tense is a youth-led dictionary that will identifies trends that will be dominant when India turns 100 in 2047.

It is designed for leaders in technology, governance, health and other spheres to prepare them for the future.

Mapping out a world where tomorrow’s breakthroughs are today’s vocabulary, the dictionary includes predictive phenomena of the world like the forthcoming yottabyte Era. It highlights uniquely Indian concepts that are poised to influence global policies and decisions, like Digital Public Infrastructure. Finally it explores cutting edge innovations, which hold substantial potential to impact the world and its future including bio-printing, pharmacogenomics, and more.

Bioprinting uses bioinks – natural or synthetic material that is biocompatible for 3D printing that can consequently mimic real tissue. This technology has the potential to replace animal testing and help in organ transplant through creating human-like tissue.

Relevance for future India Known as the ‘pharmacy of the world’, India supplies medical products, services and personnel globally, is the largest exporter of generic drugs, and is the largest global manufacturing hub supplying 60% of the world’s vaccines and more. This positions India to lead in bioprinting innovations. The global bioprinting market is valued at USD 1.3 billion (2022) and expected to be worth USD 8.64 billion by 2032 providing Indian innovators the incentive and opportunity to establish India as a leader in Global Health services.’ Leading Indian institutions are already researching bioprinting, with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru inaugurating a 3D bioprinting centre in 2023.

India in Future Tense is capturing the evolution of our everyday vocabulary thus foretelling the challenges and innovations that will shape how we live, work and thrive in the years ahead.

Once upon a time in 1947 a new independent India was born. Once upon a future in 2047 our leaders made the right policy decisions to secure prosperity for all. ‘B’ for ‘Blue carbon’,’C’ for ‘Culturnomics’, ‘D’ for ‘Digital nomad’, ’15-minute city’ and ‘Flox’ are among the 47 words that made it to a new dictionary, titled “India in Future Tense: 47 Words for 2047”.

The dictionary, which identifies the key trends that will be dominant when India turns 100 in 2047, aims to reflect values that will define the nation’s journey: “inclusivity, sustainability, and technological advancement”.

It is brought out by the United Nations Foundation and the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

“It is designed to empower young minds with the knowledge and language needed to shape a sustainable and prosperous India by 2047. As we move forward, new nouns, verbs and phrases will be essential to describe our living environment and evolving word,” reads the description of the dictionary, which is a part of the initiative by the ‘Next Generation India Fellows’.

While ‘Blue Carbon’ is the carbon that is absorbed from the atmosphere and stored in the ocean, ‘Culturnomics’ is a portmanteau of culture and economics, which describes the global transmission of culture through varied entertainments such as entertainment, food, sports and more. Similarly, a ‘Digital nomad’ is someone who uses digital technologies to work remotely while embracing a nomadic lifestyle, ‘F’ for ‘Fifteen-minute city Flox’ places all essential services within a 15-minute radius of people residing anywhere in the city, whereas ‘Flox’ means a versatile, on-demand shared living space designed for remote workers, offering cutting-edge amenities that enhance well-being and efficiency.

Here, ‘A’ for AI Governance, ‘E’ for Energy track, ‘M’ for Multi-Planetary civilizations, ‘N’ for Nuclear Microreactors, ‘O’ for One Health/Osmotic Energy, ‘Q’ for Quantum AI are the entries. The other highlighted words in the dictionary include ‘Gamification’, ‘Gender bonds’, ‘Heritage hubs’, ‘J’ for ‘Jugaad’, ‘L’ for ‘Longevity economy’, ‘Neuroqueer’, ‘Plastivore’ and ‘RoboCare’.

By bridging the gap between technical jargon and practical understanding, this dictionary makes complex concepts accessible and actionable for tomorrow’s leaders.