Strategic interdependence: Reimagining ‘atmanirbharta’ concept in modern age

As the US and China engage in what many describe as an AI arms race, the rest of the world faces a stark choice.

- Anirudh Suri

For a country like India, the traditional pursuit of strategic autonomy - a key pillar of its foreign policy - must be fundamentally re-imagined for the AI age. True autonomy in the 21st century will not come from tech protectionism or nationalism, but through a nuanced approach of building strategic interdependence.As the India AI Impact Summit begins on Monday, India's concept of "Atmanirbharta" (self-reliance) must evolve. For India. Atmanirbharta in AI should mean the guaranteed ability to access and shape the most advanced technology, rather than just the ability to build a sovereign Large Language Model (LLM).

STRATEGIC AUTONOMY IS ACHIEVED BY BECOMING SO INDISPENSABLE TO THE GLOBAL AI ECOSYSTEM TODAY THAT TOMORROW, YOUR EXCLUSION BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE

Strategic autonomy is achieved by becoming so indispensable to the global AI ecosystem today that tomorrow, your exclusion becomes impossible. Strategic interdependence is a two-way street. India should create the code that everyone else's applications run on, or the tools that everyone needs to build their applications, just as our applications run on others' tools and code.

Examples abound: Taiwan has done it with its expertise in semiconductors while the Netherlands has done it with lithography machines. By ensuring the global ecosystem relies on at least some Indian layers or elements, India ensures that other players cannot make a move that hurts its interests without hurting their own ecosystems.

A New blueprint for selfassurance

For "Atmanirbharta for the AI Age", India must master critical niches in the global AI ecosystem. Achieving this requires action across several critical pillars: