The mirage of digital sovereignty

The push for indigenous tech is welcome, but true sovereignty will come from building products the world wants to use

- RISHI RAJ

THERE'S AGROWING buzzin the technology and chatterati circles these days that feels both familiar and new.

Familiar in its patriotic fervour, and new in its ambition and scope. Digital sovereignty has become the latest buzzword, gathering momentum as domestic firms have started taking steps towards building their own large language models, cloud infrastructure, data centres, and even indigenous email and messaging platforms.The conversation has gained currency with Zoho’s stunning rise as the flag-bearer of self-reliant technology. Its messaging app, Arattai, has stormed the charts, drawing endorsements from Cabinet ministers and igniting a sense that the long-elusive dream ofan Indian-built digital ecosystem might finally be within reach.

What makes all this interesting is the blend of policy, pride, and pragmatism.A few years ago, the idea of building an indigenous alternative to WhatsApp ora foundational artificial intelligence (Al) model seemed fanciful. Now, companies like Zoho and a clutch of Al startups are trying to do just that, which is to move beyond being service providers to becoming product creators. The government’s IndiaAI mission, with its ¥10,000-crore investment in compute infrastructure, reflects the same aspiration that we should not merely consume technology but also create it.