The resignation of Geoffrey Hinton, the godfather of AI from the technology giant, Google, in May 2023, has triggered debates on the evolving techno-economic paradigm that is being unfolded, with possible unfavorable stakes on jobs and business sustainability. Besides its usual annual review of policy, practice, and developments, this twenty-sixth issue of the ‘India MSME Report series’ closely examines such scenario, and explores new directions in public policy and strategies. Bringing together the two streams of thinking, ie, the “Vikasit Bharat” agenda of the Government of India, and the vision of “Unleashing entrepreneurship”, as outlined by the United Nations, it puts forth the motto of “India First; SMEs First”, as the way forward. This Report puts forth a new vision and horizon for MSMEs in the country: ‘decentralized smart manufacturing’.