India Launches 25-Year Strategy to Reduce Tech Dependencies

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced a long-term strategy spanning 20 to 25 years to reduce India's critical technology dependencies and increase resilience against global disruptions. Speaking at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi, Vaishnaw outlined a phased approach with short-term goals for the next three to five years and long-term objectives extending over two decades. He emphasized that India seeks to become a trusted partner in global supply chains rather than achieving total self-sufficiency.

A central component of this strategy is the expansion of India's semiconductor mission. The second phase of the program will shift focus from chip fabrication and assembly toward the production of components, capital equipment, and a domestic ecosystem for critical materials, including chemicals, gases, and substrates. Vaishnaw noted that relying on a limited number of countries for these materials is a strategic vulnerability.

Vaishnaw also warned of impending global turbulence driven by artificial intelligence's impact on employment in the services sector and high debt levels in advanced economies. He argued that trust has become as critical as cost in supply chains due to cybersecurity risks and semiconductor concentration.

Supporting this strategic shift, Cisco Chairman and CEO Chuck Robbins announced that the company will introduce its sovereign critical infrastructure portfolio to India within the next few months. This portfolio, already deployed in Canada and several European countries, allows nations to maintain data security and operational control by keeping data within national boundaries. Robbins cited India's scale and engineering expertise as key factors making it a trusted partner for global companies.