India's digital ecosystem thrives on American technology. From search engines and social media platforms to business applications and cloud infrastructure, our reliance on US technology runs deep, which is why the very thought of a potential US tech blackout has sparked a flurry of reactions this week. Industrialist Harsh Goenka’s observations about the impact of a political crisis between India and the US might have on the tech industry if Donald Trump decides to ban US apps in India incited an opinion mob that insisted a blackout was unimaginable, though not entirely impossible. Homegrown tech firm Zoho and its founder Sridhar Vembu weighed in, too, suggesting a 10-year National Mission for Tech Resilience for self-reliance. India is the largest consumer market for US tech firms outside of China, and a potential ban would be as good as shooting themselves in the foot. That said, geopolitics can trump economics with Trump unabashedly using trade as leverage. If technology also becomes a weapon, India cannot escape without serious damage.
In contrast, China, South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan seem to have put in safeguards long before the global tensions escalated. In China, domestic platforms like WeChat, Baidu, and Alibaba dominate the tech scene. Likewise, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan have homegrown super apps like Line and KakaoTalk, overriding Facebook, X, and Whatsapp in adoption. Line is used by more than 70 percent of Japanese mobile users, with a higher share in Taiwan, which also has a domestic champion, Dcard. India took baby steps with Koo, an alternative for X, but could not match it in performance. Zoho is leading the product innovation curve with various messaging and workspace applications like Mail, Sheet, Arattai and Vani; even though some ministers have endorsed them, they are yet to see mass adoption.
There are no immediate threats, and chances are that American tech may never be weaponised. However, the fact remains that our lack of digital sovereignty remains a structural vulnerability. As can be seen from the ongoing global trade war, countries with excessive external dependence risk losing out when elements of trade are weaponised to assert world dominance. India needs to build its own digital ecosystem to shield itself from geopolitical fallouts.
