India at digital mercy of US giants

India’s heavy reliance on United States software, cloud services, and social media platforms poses a significant economic and security vulnerability, particularly during geopolitical tensions, the think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) stated on Sunday.

GTRI highlighted that Washington could potentially cut off services or access to data, disrupting critical sectors such as banking, governance, and defence, while also influencing public discourse through foreign platforms. “India's economy and security are deeply reliant on US software, cloud, and social media platforms, creating a major vulnerability in times of geopolitical tension,” GTRI said.

To mitigate these risks, GTRI founder Ajay Srivastava proposed a “Digital Swaraj Mission,” focused on establishing sovereign cloud infrastructure, developing an indigenous operating system, strengthening homegrown cybersecurity capabilities, and fostering data-driven artificial intelligence leadership.

Srivastava noted that global peers are taking similar measures: Europe is building sovereign cloud systems and enforcing the Digital Markets Act, while China has replaced foreign code in government, defence, and industrial systems with indigenous platforms.

Emphasizing the urgency, he cautioned that India’s entire digital backbone could be disrupted if US tech companies were to pull the plug on Windows, Android, or cloud services. Currently, over 500 million smartphones in India operate on Google’s Android platform, making a large portion of the country’s communication infrastructure dependent on foreign technology.

The proposed mission would be implemented in phases. In the short term (1-2 years), India should mandate sovereign cloud hosting for critical data, launch a national OS programme, and pilot Linux transitions in key ministries. In the medium term (3-5 years), government systems are expected to fully migrate to Indian software, supported by public-private cybersecurity consortia. In the long term (5-7 years), India should achieve cloud parity, replace foreign operating systems in defence and critical sectors, and develop globally competitive open-network platforms.

GTRI’s recommendations underscore the need for technological self-reliance to safeguard national security, economic stability, and the integrity of India’s digital infrastructure.