Trusted photonics: Securing India's optical backbone

India needs a trusted photonics framework to prevent foreign components from be-coming hidden points of failure across digital and defence communications.

- BY DR JAIJIT BHATTACHARYA, RANJAN KHANNA & DIPANJAN GHOSH

India’s digital and strategic transformation is progressing at a scale and speed few countries have experienced. National programmes such as BharatNet, the rollout of 5G networks, and the digitisation of defence communications are reshaping how the state, economy, and society function.

Beneath these visible layers of connectivity lies an often-overlooked foundation: photonics. Optical fibre, optical fibre preforms, and active optical components such as transceivers form the physical layer on which India’s digital economy and emerging network-centric military capabilities depend. Despite their centrality, these components remain largely imported and insufficiently verified.

IMPORT DEPENDENCE WEAKENS TRUSTED PHOTONICS

India today depends on external suppliers for over 70% of its optical fibre preforms, with imports concentrated primarily from China. Optical transceivers are almost entirely sourced from abroad. Regulatory and customs classifications have compounded this dependence by treating active optical transceivers as “parts” rather than a complete communication apparatus, enabling duty-free imports and weakening incentives for domestic manufacturing.

The result is a structural vulnerability that goes well beyond trade balances. It raises a fundamental strategic question: can India's digital and defence ambitions rest securely on infrastructure whose most critical physical inputs are externally controlled and not fully trusted?

The answer becomes clearer when examined through the lens of modern warfare and strategic competition. Military doctrine worldwide has shifted toward network-centric operations, in which operational effectiveness depends on uninterrupted, real-time data exchange among sensors, command centres, and deployed assets. India's own defence architecture reflects this shift.