Sovereign tech can’t wait: why ‘Make in India’ must move beyond sloganeering
Founder, Director of Avaali Solutions Pvt Ltd, Ms. Srividya Kannan’s article published in businesstoday website.
When Microsoft temporarily halted its services to Indian refiner Nayara Energy in late July 2025—after EU sanctions against Russia, which owns a stake in Nayara—the disruption was more than a corporate setback. It was a warning shot. For India, it highlighted just how vulnerable the country is when its critical data and foundational technologies are tied to global powers and foreign companies.
From ERP systems that form the backbone of enterprises to data hosted on private cloud platforms, India’s dependence on Western technology runs deep. “We are already late in the day when it comes to some of these technologies,” says Srividya Kannan, Founder and Director of Avaali Solutions, talking to Business Today and stressing that India must act now to safeguard its digital sovereignty.
Founded in 2013, Avaali Solutions is a technology solutions company, specialising in cost optimisation and margin improvement for upper-mid to large enterprises.
Speaking on the sidelines of an exclusive roundtable to deliberate on the theme: “India Must Own Its Tech Destiny.” The session, led by Kannan and distinguished group of C-suite leaders, including Pratima Ram, Independent Director on Corporate Boards; Neeraj Agrawal, COO, Tata Projects; and Dyuti Raj Anshu, Global Procurement Head, Himalaya Wellness., alongside other senior industry leaders, they talked on how Indian enterprises must prioritise using homegrown solutions.
According to Kannan, India missed the bus in the late 1990s when it could have nurtured a domestic tech ecosystem. Yet, she insists the opportunity is far from lost. With a fast-growing economy, unmatched datasets, and 1.4 billion people set to drive the country into the ranks of the world’s top three economies within the next few years, the scope for homegrown solutions remains vast.
Still, roadblocks persist. Indian tech firms hesitate to invest heavily in building products, unsure whether they will compete on a level playing field with global giants—even in government and PSU contracts. “Even if we sell to Indian governments and PSUs, it’s not like we’re given any preference,” she notes.
Breaking the cycle of dependence
Adoption remains the missing link in India’s tech journey. Without domestic uptake, startups remain trapped in a cycle of under-investment. Kannan draws parallels with China, which aggressively promoted indigenous solutions until they became global standards. “The biggest proof of pudding is adoption. Once adoption starts, it becomes a forward-moving cycle,” she says.
As per Agrawal from TATA Projects, “we need to first ‘Make for India’ and then export from India. China provides a compelling example of this approach, while Japan offers a fantastic model of how to build technological excellence through deep industry-government partnerships. Without such collaborative mechanisms and a clear domestic-first strategy, our innovations will struggle to achieve scale.”
For that cycle to begin, the government must play a catalytic role. Kannan argues for three immediate measures:
- Mandated preference for Make in India solutions in public procurement.
- Incentives for the private sector to at least ask the question: Is this product made in India?
- Extending PLI schemes beyond manufacturing and infrastructure to include applications and software.
Industry bodies like NASSCOM, universities, and R&D institutions, she adds, must step in to audit and benchmark technologies to ensure Indian solutions meet world-class standards.
India has seen visible progress in the past few years—the India AI Mission, the semiconductor push, and recognition of critical infrastructure needs. But Kannan warns this is not enough. “We are running out of time. It cannot be about the success of an individual company. It has to be a collaborative effort across government, enterprises, academia, and the media.”