It’s time to reclaim India’s digital billions

American platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook (Meta), and X dominate India’s digital space, drawing hundreds of millions of users — yet most of the economic value flows abroad.

- AJAY KUMAR

If revenues reflected user share, Meta’s 900 million Indian users alone would represent about $45 billion annually. Across platforms like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, India’s digital engagement exceeds $100 billion in value captured overseas.

In contrast, China blocked global apps early on and fostered homegrown giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, Weibo, and ByteDance, keeping the value of its 1.4 billion users within its borders. Today, firms like ByteDance ($155 billion) and Alibaba ($137 billion) rival India’s largest conglomerates, including Reliance and Tata in scale. Had India pursued a similar path instead of focusing primarily on technology for governance and inclusion, much of the revenue, jobs, and innovation now concentrated abroad could have strengthened India’s own digital economy.

Beyond economics, control of user data is now strategic power. Data reveals social trends and political moods, shaping markets and democracies. The Cambridge Analytica scandal showed how Facebook data could influence elections, while Google and Amazon use data dominance to strengthen their grip on artificial intelligence (AI) and commerce. Even WhatsApp’s reported backdoor access for US agencies raises sovereignty concerns. For India, hosting nearly a billion internet users, ensuring sovereignty over its data is not just an economic goal but a cornerstone of digital independence and national security.

Unlike China’s state-controlled firewall, India operates in an open, globally connected internet. A “Great Firewall” model would neither suit India’s democracy nor its millions already on global platforms. India’s path must be to compete, not close — by building homegrown platforms that win users by choice through innovation, security, and local relevance.