India Should Achieve Digital Sovereignty And Cut Dependence On US-controlled Digital Infra: GTRI
While India’s data is its biggest bargaining chip, the entire digital backbone could be crippled overnight if US tech giants pull the plug on Windows, Android, or cloud services
Chennai: India’s economy, government, and military remain heavily dependent on US-controlled digital infrastructure, raising alarms over sovereignty and national security. Like the European Union and China, India too should aim at achieving digital sovereignty by making itself self-reliant in Operating System, cloud, cybersecurity, and social media by 2030.
While India’s data is its biggest bargaining chip, the entire digital backbone could be crippled overnight if US tech giants pull the plug on Windows, Android, or cloud services.
More than 25 million government and enterprise laptops run on Microsoft Windows, while over 500 million smartphones rely on Google’s Android operating system and another 30 million use Apple’s iOS. If access to these systems were ever cut off or licenses revoked, banking, governance, and corporate operations would come to a standstill.
Productivity software such as Microsoft Office, Exchange, and Teams dominate 20 million devices, with Google Workspace covering another 5–10 million users. India’s own secure NIC email platform remains confined to a handful of ministries and cannot replace these tools at scale.
In cloud computing, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud collectively host thousands of Indian workloads, including those of fintech firms, e-commerce giants, and government platforms.
The government’s MeghRaj National Cloud initiative is yet to reach the capacity to serve as a viable alternative, said GTRI.
Cybersecurity, too, is dominated by foreign vendors. Microsoft Defender, Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and CrowdStrike protect millions of endpoints.
Critical infrastructure, from power grids to telecom networks and manufacturing plants, uses US-made SCADA and PLC software — systems that experts warn could be remotely disabled in extreme circumstances.
India’s defense preparedness also depends on proprietary American mission software embedded in Apache helicopters and maritime patrol aircr aft.
Google Chrome commands 95 percent of India’s browser market, while U.S.-based social media platforms — Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, and X — dominate online discourse with minimal local oversight.
This deep dependence could become a major vulnerability in times of geopolitical friction, making a case for accelerated development of indigenous software, cloud, and cybersecurity solutions.
Meanwhile, the European Union is building sovereign cloud capacity for sensitive data and rolling out landmark regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA).
The Chinese government now runs on Kylin OS instead of Windows, while Huawei’s HarmonyOS powers many domestic smartphones. Search engines like Baidu and Sogou have displaced Google, and cloud services from Alibaba and Tencent host China’s most sensitive data.
The country’s cybersecurity, IoT platforms, and defense command-and-control systems are largely homegrown, minimizing the US code in critical infrastructure.
