India Needs Resilient Ecosystem To Store Critical Data: MeitY Secretary

With India looking to adopt emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, it is essential to have a resilient ecosystem where critical data can be stored, said MeitY Secretary S Krishnan.

“As a country, we generate millions and millions of terabytes and megabytes of data, which is stored in multiple places, not just in India, but across the world. Eventually, when we have to have a resilient ecosystem within the country, it is important that the most crucial data is stored in the country itself,” Krishnan has said at TCS’s Accelerating India conference in New Delhi.

His comments came during the launch of TCS SovereignSecure Cloud, an indigenous cloud platform built and managed entirely by TCS. The platform complies with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which may require critical data to be stored within the country in some cases if specified by the government.

According to Krishnan, the TCS sovereign cloud offering will be a valuable addition to India’s digital public infrastructure, which has become a global benchmark.

“The digital economy has already grown from about 6 to 7% of India’s overall economy to reach almost about, expected to reach almost about, 20% by the end of this decade. When we reach that, it is important that we are equipped in every way to handle all the opportunities that it provides,” he said.

He added that the large volume of data generated in India can help entrepreneurs and innovators develop new solutions, drive further innovation, and support the country’s economic growth by making more effective use of digital technologies and the digital economy.

Outlook Business reported the development first.

Girish Ramachandran, president – growth markets at TCS, noted that while some of the hardware for their sovereign cloud is not from India, the company sees opportunities for complete indigenisation. “When semiconductor picks up in the country, there is an opportunity for us to work with the Tejas (Networks) of the world, the Tata Electronics of the world and build something which is fully indigenous,”he said. 

This ties into India’s semiconductor ambitions, with Krishnan recently stating that India’s chip demand will likely reach $100-110 Bn by 2030 from the current $45-50 Bn.

The Centre is planning to invest in five semiconductor companies, of which four are OSAT (Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) and one fab company. It has already approved Kaynes Semicon, Tata Electronics, CG Power, Micron Technology, and Suchi Semicon to set up their respective units in the country.

India’s AI Momentum Growing Rapidly

India has seen rapid growth in AI adoption and development. According to Inc42’s GenAI report, India’s startup ecosystem now boasts 200+ GenAI startups, with 70% focused on enterprise solutions. The report indicates a $17 Bn+ market opportunity by 2030, with these startups having raised over $1.2 Bn in total funding since 2020.

The report also highlights that 84% of Indian VCs prefer industry-focused startups over general-purpose solutions, with more than 360 investors actively backing native GenAI startups in the country.

The Centre launched the IndiaAI Mission in March 2024 with an allocation of INR 10,372 Cr to boost the domestic AI ecosystem. 

As part of this initiative, MeitY has received nearly 200 proposals to build indigenous AI foundational models, including large language models (LLMs) using Indian languages and datasets.

Speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh earlier this month, Krishnan addressed concerns about AI-driven job losses, saying that India doesn’t need to fear job losses as much as Western countries because of its different economic structure.

“We, at least in India, don’t have to fear job losses as much—which is typically a western fear—because I don’t think we have as many white-collar jobs to lose,” the MeitY Secretary had said, adding that AI’s potential could boost productivity across industries such as manufacturing and create new job opportunities.

MeitY is expected to soon announce the first four startups selected to receive funding under the IndiaAI Mission. Reportedly Sarvam AI, Soket AI Labs, Gnani.ai, and Gan.ai are expected to get incentives for building indigenous AI foundation models and large language models with Indian language capabilities.

MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) has also partnered with Startup Policy Forum (SPF) to foster technological innovation and promote startups operating in the deeptech sector.

The partnership will focus on startups across sectors, including artificial intelligence, deep technology and other emerging technologies. SPF will assist MSH in several initiatives, including conducting joint research, policy analysis and organizing stakeholder engagement.

“This partnership with the Startup Policy Forum aligns policy, innovation, and entrepreneurship to unlock that potential. By uniting diverse expertise across sectors, we aim to create new economic opportunities and establish India as a global technology leader,” said Panneerselvam Madanagopal, CEO of MeitY Startup Hub.

 Nano Electronics Centres Boosting Semiconductor Capability

MeitY has established nano electronics centres at IISc (Indian Institute of Science) and IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) to drive India’s deep-tech developments.

During the nano electronics roadshow at IISC Bengaluru, Krishnan said that MeitY’s nano centres are playing a critical role in boosting innovation and talent to prepare a semiconductor-ready workforce of 85,000 professionals in the country.

He also added that the government is working to improve the design linked incentive schemes in the semiconductor space. “20% of the workforce in semiconductor design across the world is in India.”