Opinion Budget 2026 shows — India wants a seat at the tech high table, not just the factory floor

This addresses a fundamental gap. India currently imports nearly 100 per cent of its semiconductor manufacturing equipment and materials, which undermines long-term competitiveness. The expanded mission recognises that sustainable semiconductor ecosystems require more than chip factories. Taiwan’s dominance wasn’t built on fabs alone, but on vertically integrated capabilities from design tools to testing equipment.

The Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme expansion to Rs 40,000 crore — nearly double its original allocation — complements this strategy. Investment commitments have already reached twice the initial target, suggesting genuine market demand. By targeting display modules, camera assemblies, PCBs, and lithium cell enclosures, the scheme addresses components representing 60-70 per cent of smartphone and laptop value.

The timing also matters. As US-China tensions reshape global supply chains, companies like Apple are actively diversifying manufacturing. India assembled smartphones worth $38 billion in 2024, but imported components worth $28 billion — highlighting the value capture gap this budget aims to close.

Perhaps the Budget’s most strategic provision is the tax holiday until 2047 for foreign cloud providers using Indian data centres. This 15 per cent cost-based safe harbour creates long-term policy certainty that matters more to hyperscale investors than short-term subsidies. The numbers explain why this matters. The Economic Survey 2026-27 flagged that over 70 per cent of global data centers are concentrated in high-income countries, limiting India’s access to cutting-edge computing infrastructure. For a country with 760 million internet users — second globally — and 7 billion monthly UPI transactions, this represents a structural bottleneck.

Training large language models (LLMs) requires massive computational resources. GPT-4 class models need thousands of GPUs running for months; inference workloads scale with user adoption. Without proximate, affordable infrastructure, Indian AI development remains perpetually dependent on foreign providers. The stipulation requiring Indian customers be served through local reseller entities ensures domestic value capture while maintaining competitive pricing. If executed well, this creates a virtuous cycle: Infrastructure attracts workloads, generating demand for skilled professionals, software development, and ancillary services.

The establishment of rare earth corridors in Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh deserves more attention. These elements are critical for electric vehicle motors, semiconductor manufacturing, and AI hardware, representing genuine supply chain choke points.

India holds 6.9 million tonnes of rare-earth reserves, the world’s third-largest, yet mines only a fraction due to limited private investment. China controls 70 per cent of global rare-earth mining and 90 per cent of processing — dominance it has weaponised in trade disputes.

By creating dedicated corridors for mining, processing, research, and manufacturing, the Budget addresses both supply and value addition. Integrated with semiconductor and electronics manufacturing, this creates potential for vertical integration — from raw materials to finished components — that few countries can match. South Korea’s battery dominance and Japan’s materials science leadership demonstrate how controlling critical inputs translates to strategic advantage.

Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual AI tool for India’s 140 million agricultural households, demonstrates technology’s democratising potential. Integrated with Agri-Stack portals and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s best practices, it targets customised advisory support at scale.

The genius lies in leveraging India’s digital public infrastructure — proven through UPI’s 16 billion monthly transactions and Aadhaar’s 1.4 billion enrollments. Technology adoption fails not from lack of sophistication but from accessibility. A smallholder farmer receiving personalised crop advisories in Punjabi, based on soil data, weather patterns, and market prices, could see transformative productivity gains.

With 42 per cent of India’s workforce in agriculture contributing just 18 per cent of GDP, even marginal productivity improvements have a massive economic impact.

The proposal for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics content creator labs in 15,000 schools and 500 colleges addresses creative technology skills. India’s AVGC sector projects need 2 million professionals by 2030. This represents workforce planning at a demographic scale. More importantly, it recognises that technology’s value increasingly lies not in hardware manufacturing but software, content, and digital experiences.

For all its ambition, Budget 2026-27 faces India’s perennial challenge: Execution. The original India Semiconductor Mission, launched in 2021 with Rs 76,000 crore, shows mixed results — approvals granted but timelines extended, investments committed but production yet to scale. Semiconductor manufacturing operates on razor-thin margins and decade-long gestation periods. Policy uncertainty is fatal to investment. Similarly, rare-earth corridors require navigating environmental clearances, land rights, and processing technology.

The data centre tax holiday needs a reliable power supply, connectivity infrastructure, and cybersecurity frameworks. India ranks 79th globally in internet quality and faces intermittent power supply issues outside major metros.

What distinguishes this Budget is strategic coherence. Semiconductors enable electronics manufacturing, requiring rare-earth materials, while data centres power AI applications, enhancing both manufacturing efficiency and agricultural productivity. These aren’t siloed initiatives but interconnected elements of a technology stack.

In a world of friend-shoring and strategic autonomy, where semiconductors, cloud computing, and AI are tools of statecraft, India is steadily positioning itself as a strategic partner with indigenous capabilities. The emphasis on IP, equipment manufacturing, and materials production signals India wants a seat where technology standards are set and value chains designed, not just a place on the factory floor.

The writer is a defence and tech policy adviser and former country head of General Dynamics