Digital independence

From digital adoption to digital sovereignty, India is leveraging AI to recalibrate its power.

- By MP SUKUMARAN NAIR, CENTRE FOR GREEN TECHNOLOGY & MANAGEMENT, COCHIN

India's journey toward digital sovereignty represents a pivotal transformation in its national development narrative. At its core, digitisation serves not merely as a technological upgrade but as a profound instrument of empowerment. By harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) as a catalyst, India—already recognised as a global software superpower—seeks to assert greater autonomy in the digital domain. This ambition addresses a fundamental question: How rapidly can India achieve self-reliance in a digitised AI regime, and how extensively can it redefine its role from a consumer of technology to a co-creator? Achieving a meaningful impact requires indigenous capabilities, a strategic deviation from historical patterns of technology adoption, and robust support from infrastructure, legislation, and regulatory frameworks. As of December 2025, the foundations for this sovereign digital future are firmly in place, yet the pace and scope of progress hinge on deliberate, accelerated actions.

Historically, advanced economies in the West have dominated the innovation lifecycle: developing, testing, and commercialising new technologies, while developing nations like India have primarily purchased these solutions for domestic application. This model has imposed significant constraints. Even operational enhancements derived from practical experience are often curtailed by stringent patent laws, leaving countries perpetually reliant on outdated versions and vulnerable to external dependencies.