India is planning a long-term roadmap spanning 20 to 25 years to reduce critical technology dependencies and strengthen its resilience against global disruptions, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum.
Emphasising that India aims to become a trusted partner in global technology supply chains rather than pursue complete self-sufficiency, the minister said the country was identifying strategic areas where excessive dependence on other nations could make its economy and manufacturing sector vulnerable to geopolitical tensions and policy changes.
“Things change, politics change, geopolitics play a big role, so we have to constantly calibrate our approach, and we in India are thinking at least 20 years ahead,” Vaishnaw said.
He outlined a phased planning framework, with short-term goals covering three to five years, medium-term targets spanning five to 15 years, and long-term objectives extending over 20 to 25 years. The approach focuses on developing domestic capabilities in strategically important sectors while maintaining integration with global value chains.
Vaishnaw said technology would remain a global industry, with supply chains distributed across several countries. India’s priority, he added, was to identify critical dependencies and build resilience without compromising international partnerships.
Highlighting the semiconductor sector, the minister stressed the importance of developing the entire ecosystem, including materials, chemicals, gases and substrate materials, alongside chip design and manufacturing. He said the second phase of India’s semiconductor programme placed greater emphasis on these essential inputs, noting that building such capabilities required sustained investment and time.
“Without ecosystem, no manufacturing effort will ever pay off,” he said.
Citing the mobile phone industry as an example, Vaishnaw said India had gradually progressed from assembling devices to manufacturing modules and components. He added that the country was now producing several components for domestic requirements and had begun exporting some of them.
The minister also underscored the need to increase research and development expenditure and improve its allocation, particularly towards applied research that could strengthen domestic technological capabilities.
Referring to India’s telecom sector, Vaishnaw cited the development of an end-to-end indigenous 4G telecom stack through collaboration between the government and the private sector. The system was developed in three-and-a-half years and has been deployed on more than 100,000 towers, he said.
Vaishnaw also cautioned against potential global financial and technological disruptions, particularly those arising from the impact of artificial intelligence on employment and mounting debt in advanced economies.
He said the combined effects of AI-driven changes in employment patterns, especially in the services sector, and pressures arising from debt levels could create significant challenges in the coming years.
The minister said India was working to strengthen its financial, economic and technological resilience to prepare for such uncertainties. He noted that the country’s public debt-to-GDP ratio had declined from 61 per cent to 55 per cent over the past five years.
The discussion also featured Cisco Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chuck Robbins, who said India’s approach of developing strategically important capabilities while partnering with trusted companies offered a practical path towards technological sovereignty. (ANI)
