India needs to build ‘sovereign autonomy’ in technology while staying open to global innovation in order to protect itself against supply disruptions and technology denial, S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said.
Speaking at a Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) event in New Delhi on Thursday, Krishnan said that India’s strategy rests on three pillars, mainly remaining open to the latest technology, building enough domestic capacity to withstand supply denial, and securing a large enough share of global value chains to make India’s presence visible to trading partners, a dynamic he described as ‘mutually assured disruption’.
Balancing global access with domestic capacity
“You need to be open to global technology because there are areas where you fall short and our people and our enterprises can continue to have access to the latest technology globally. At the same time, you need to build enough capacity domestically to do without any of these in case at some point you are denied any of this,” he said.
Krishnan’s remarks underscore how deeply India’s technology ecosystem remains tied to both Washington and Beijing, even as the government pushes for greater self-reliance. To this, Krishnan said that India’s strategy therefore had to remain open and flexible rather than being built around a single source of technology or supply.
Global firms seek resilient supply chains
He pointed to accelerating diversification globally, including a visit by the full European Commission to India and deepening partnerships with Japan and Canada, as evidence that companies are now willing to pay a resilience premium to avoid over-concentration in single markets.Separately, Krishnan said that India has enough domestic capacity to make smartphone screen protectors and should ensure substandard imports do not undercut local manufacturers.
Smartphone screen protectors have been recently been bought under the compulsory registration framework for electronics and IT goods. The new requirement will make compliance with the prescribed Indian Standard mandatory from April 1, 2027, giving manufacturers and other entities until March 31, 2027 to transition.
