India’s vision of Viksit Bharat 2047,becoming a fully developed, inclusive, and globally respected nation by the centenary of independence rests on achieving digital sovereignty. Digital sovereignty is the nation’s capacity to govern its own digital infrastructure, data, AI systems, and identity frameworks in alignment with constitutional values, ethical standards, and strategic interests. This paper analyzes two foundational pillars of that vision: building India’s AI backbone and enacting a Digital Consumer Protection Law for the AI era. It synthesizes the general context, current status, key challenges, proposed pathways, and milestones to 2047. The AI backbone pillar focuses on sovereign compute, domestic chip fabrication, public cloud, and largescale AI infrastructure, while the consumer protection pillar centers on rights based data consent, algorithmic accountability, and robust redressal. Together, these pillars articulate a roadmap for policy coherence, institutional capability, and infrastructure scale that can position India as a global leader in ethical, inclusive, and future ready technology.
Building India’s AI Backbone
AI is the infrastructural technology of this century and requires sovereign compute, semiconductor capability, and integrated cloud services. India’s India AI Mission has committed about USD 1.2 billion to early compute infrastructure, and the Semiconductor Mission’s USD 10 billion PLI package has catalyzed investments and announced domestic design and manufacturing collaborations at Semicon India 2025. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) such as Aadhaar and UPI supplies standardized interfaces and high quality, consented data that can underpin public interest AI applications in health, agriculture and education.
However, India faces an investment gap relative to global leaders, near total import dependence for advanced chips, and limited domestic high end compute for training large models. Talent retention is an issue despite a large STEM output, and reliance on foreign cloud providers creates jurisdictional and security exposure. To close these gaps India should scale the AI Mission to USD 10–15 billion through blended public–private financing, incentivize domestic fabs and packaging, build a sovereign federated cloud tied to DPI and certified local data centers, and fund national AI research institutes with mandates for multilingual LLMs (covering 22 scheduled languages) and sectoral models for agriculture, primary healthcare and education. Milestones include public compute clusters and an Indian LLM prototype by 2025, domestic fabs and exascale compute by 2030, and a fully sovereign AI stack by 2040, with AI contributing materially to GDP by 2047.
Digital Consumer Protection Law for the AI Era
Algorithms now mediate critical outcomes i.e credit, healthcare triage, hiring, and educational admissions thus making legal protections necessary. India’s DPDP Act (2023) introduced consent principles but does not fully address algorithmic accountability. International precedents include the EU AI Act’s risk based obligations and China’s PIPL and algorithm rules governing recommendations and synthetic content.
A dedicated Digital Consumer Protection Law (DCPL) should require transparency and explainability for high impact systems, mandate algorithmic impact assessments and third party audits for high risk sectors, and enable data portability via personal data wallets with granular, revocable consent. A Digital Consumer Authority with technical and enforcement capacity should supervise compliance, run regulatory sandboxes, and maintain public registries of audited systems. Phased milestones as envisaged can be ; a DCPL draft and public consultations by 2025, operational regulator and mandatory audits by 2030, interoperable data portability by 2035, and recognition as a model for protecting AI consumer rights by 2047.
From STEM to STEAM : Teaching AI and Ethics
Ethical, creative and socially aware innovators are critical to ensure AI systems reflect India’s diversity and constitutional values rather than reproducing bias. STEAM adds Arts, Ethics, Civics and Climate to STEM so students learn not only algorithms but also context, fairness, human rights and environmental costs. The National Education Policy 2020 already endorses multidisciplinary learning and flexibility in subject choice, and the Central Board of Secondary Education has introduced basic AI modules. However, current curricula remain technically focused; higher education enrollment continues to favor engineering disciplines, and ethics content is often marginal.
Practical examples show the stakes: biased datasets have produced discriminatory outcomes in hiring and credit scoring in other jurisdictions, and facial recognition systems trained on non representative data reported higher error rates for women and darker skinned people. India’s linguistic plurality and socio economic heterogeneity make localized, ethically informed AI design imperative.
Barriers include an exam centric schooling culture that prizes rote memorization, significant teacher training gaps in both AI literacy and ethics pedagogy, and an urban–rural infrastructure divide that limits lab and broadband access. Curricular silos also mean ethics and civic reasoning are rarely integrated into technical projects, and employers increasingly seek graduates who can reason about social impacts and design for inclusion.
The way forward requires layered action. Schools should adopt AI and Ethics modules that combine hands on projects with case studies on fairness, explainability, data minimization, climate cost of compute and civic implications. Teacher reskilling must scale via university partnerships, micro credentials and blended professional development. At the tertiary level, governments and universities should fund interdisciplinary programs combining computer science with philosophy, law, design and environmental studies, and create “responsible technology studios” where students co design solutions with public agencies and MSMEs. Practical exposure through internships and problem statements in agritech, primary healthcare and education will ground learning in Indian contexts. International collaboration with universities and multilateral bodies can supply curriculum models while enabling adaptation to local languages and norms. Milestones should be time bound: pilot STEAM curricula by 2025 in representative districts and universities; mainstream AI and Ethics across school boards by 2030; establish interdisciplinary degree programs with industry partnerships by 2035; mature and export a STEAM based education model to the Global South by 2040; and be recognised for an ethical AI workforce by 2047.
Mandating Tech Impact Audits
AI, Web3 and other disruptive technologies can create unintended harms,privacy erosion, discrimination, misinformation, labour disruption and environmental damage. Tech Impact Assessments (TIAs) institutionalise ethics by design by requiring anticipatory evaluation, documentation and mitigation before and after deployment.
Current practice in India is dominated by voluntary guidelines and industry codes; startups often prioritise speed to market over structured assessment. International precedents include the EU’s AI Act, which imposes risk based obligations on high risk systems, and Canada’s Directive on Automated Decision Making, which requires impact assessments for government use of automation.Key challenges are practical. Compliance costs can burden early stage firms; audit capacity is limited because of a shortage of interdisciplinary auditors skilled in ML fairness testing, security, HCI and sectoral regulation; regulators risk overreach if rules are poorly calibrated; enforcement is hard when thousands of small firms iterate rapidly; and technology evolves faster than regulatory cycles.
A pragmatic approach is a risk tiered audit regime. Low risk tools face disclosure and baseline privacy requirements; medium risk systems perform standardised self assessments with documentation; high risk applications in finance, health, education and civic services require third party audits, pre deployment certification and continuous monitoring. Incentives such as tax credits, procurement preference, and fast track sandbox access should reward ethics by design. Building audit capacity requires a National Centre for Tech Audits to certify auditors, publish sectoral templates (model cards, data sheets, robustness tests), and maintain a public register of audited systems. Regulatory sandboxes allow controlled testing with real users and guardrails; public summaries of TIA outcomes improve transparency while protecting IP. To support compliance, incentives (tax credits, procurement preference), regulatory sandboxes for controlled testing, and a National Centre for Tech Audits to certify auditors and produce sectoral guidance are essential. Public summaries of TIA outcomes will enhance accountability and trust without exposing sensitive IP. Pilot TIAs in fintech and healthcare by 2025, mandatory high risk audits by 2030, and mainstreaming TIAs into innovation culture by 2047 constitute a reasonable roadmap.
One India, One Digital ID
A unified, consent driven digital identity reduces fragmentation, prevents duplication, streamlines service delivery and empowers citizens to control data sharing. India’s Aadhaar system covers over 1.3 billion enrollments and enabled Direct Benefit Transfers and broad e KYC; DigiLocker provides verifiable credentials; and UPI demonstrates interoperable, consented financial flows. Yet gaps remain: interoperability across PAN, voter ID and sectoral registries is incomplete; granular, revocable consent is uneven; and adoption across private services is partial. Challenges are significant. Privacy and surveillance concerns demand strong legal protections; cybersecurity threats require hardened, sovereign infrastructure; integrating legacy systems across states and agencies is complex; public trust must be earned through clear rights and redress; and digital identity depends on secure sovereign cloud and data localization under defined safeguards.
The recommended architecture is federated and privacy preserving: verifiable credentials issuing signed assertions (for example, “age>18”, “licensed professional”) replace wholesale data sharing, and self sovereign identity primitives and selective disclosure cryptography minimize exposure. The Account Aggregator model can underpin a consent architecture that enables revocable, auditable permissions across financial and non financial domains. Public–private integration should be API based and certified, with a Digital Identity Act codifying privacy by design, user rights (portability, correction, revocation), liability, and redress. Global interoperability roadmaps should be pursued selectively to support diasporic and cross border services while protecting sovereignty.
Milestones to incl pilot an integrated OIDI demonstration linking Aadhaar, DigiLocker and UPI consent flows by 2025; national rollout with private sector API adoption by 2030; establish selective cross border interoperability frameworks by 2035; reach near universal adoption with alternatives for the digitally excluded by 2040; and be recognized for trusted, consent driven identity practices by 2047.
Comprehensive Cyber Security Framework for India
India possesses foundational legislation, including the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act, 2023) and clear CERT-In directions for critical infrastructure, yet the current cyber security system suffers from fragmentation. To strengthen digital sovereignty, India must harmonize overlapping statutes, adopt a pragmatic tiered system for incident reporting, carefully calibrate penalties, and formally institutionalize mechanisms for continuous public–private threat-intelligence sharing. Existing legal frameworks include the Information Technology Act, 2000 & 2008 (ITA), which provides legal recognition for electronic records, defines cybercrimes, and regulates certifying authorities. This is further supported by the National Cybersecurity Policy 2013, which aims to create a secure ecosystem, enhance capacities, strengthen legal frameworks, promote R&D, and protect the Critical Information Infrastructure (CII). Building upon these efforts, the National Cybersecurity Strategy 2020 focuses intently on CII protection, institutional governance, capacity building, cybercrime prevention, fostering robust public-private partnerships, promoting essential cyber hygiene, and expanding international engagement to manage cross-border digital threats.
The modern cyber threat landscape is diverse and sophisticated, encompassing several distinct types of criminal activity that require immediate and coordinated defence. Prominent among these are economic and financial frauds, including the widespread use of ransomware for extortion and phishing campaigns designed to steal sensitive user information. Attacks are also frequently mounted directly against critical services and national infrastructure, posing severe risks to public safety and essential utilities. Data theft and privacy violations remain a constant concern, eroding public trust and infringing on fundamental individual rights. Furthermore, campaigns involve disinformation and influence operations, which aim to manipulate public opinion and potentially destabilize democratic processes. The proliferation of malware is a challenge, particularly in supply-chain and Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems, where vulnerabilities can be widely exploited. An emerging threat is the reckless use of Generative AI (Gen AI) tools, such as DeepSeek by individuals across public, private, and defence sectors, which can inadvertently lead to the generation and subsequent exposure of private data breaches.
In order to effectively combat these evolving threats, several critical governance and operational gaps must be addressed. The current six hour reporting requirement for cyber incidents is often considered impractical for thorough forensic analysis; therefore, it is vital to introduce a phased, tiered reporting model to allow for comprehensive analysis. Significant fragmentation persists in governance, particularly due to the functional separation between the DPDP Act (focused on privacy) and CERT-In directions (focused on national security), alongside the involvement of the STPI formulation. Practical issues in coordination with law enforcement and the judiciary often lead to drawn-out proceedings for complex cybercrime cases. The challenge of cross-border investigations remains acute, hampered by slow international legal processes for evidence sharing. Finally, a notable industry reluctance for voluntary disclosure of cyber incidents, stemming from fears of reputational damage or regulatory penalties, significantly impedes the collective defence posture, while the growing sophistication of threats sponsored by state and non-state actors is compounded by India’s increasing reliance on digital infrastructure, expanding the national attack surface. Furthermore, gaps in public–private partnerships are critical given that much of the CII is privately owned, and the persistent limited supply of indigenous cyber security tools and specialized workforce capacity must be urgently addressed, demanding a shift toward a real-time monitoring and predictive threat intelligence posture.
To strengthen digital sovereignty, an accelerated and action-oriented set of recommendations must be implemented across the ecosystem. Collaboration must be fortified between NCIIPC, CERT-In, State-level bodies, and the Defence Cyber Agency, mandating regular CII audits and red-teaming exercises to test resilience effectively. It is essential to formally institute CERT-In and DPDP obligations through a tiered reporting structure: initial notification within six hours, detailed follow-ups within 72 hours, and a final forensic report within 30 days. India must prioritize the development of AI/ML-driven threat detection systems for truly proactive defence. Implementing a safe-harbor provision is critical to encourage entities to share bona fide cyber threat intelligence voluntarily without fear of punitive action. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to fast-track cross-border evidence cooperation through efficient mechanisms like cyber-MLATs (Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties). Enforcement should be significantly strengthened via specialized Data Protection Board technical panels and dedicated cyber-benches within the judiciary. Capacity building must be a top priority, involving the establishment of regional CERTs, accredited SOCs (Security Operations Centers), and specialized police cyber cells, while simultaneously encouraging the development and adoption of 'Make in India' cyber security products. Finally, the system needs improved transparency through the publication of anonymized public statistics on incidents and the execution of regular sectoral cyber resilience exercises to benchmark preparedness.
India’s Transparent Crypto Rules
India is actively exploring the deployment of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) while maintaining a cautious stance regarding private crypto currencies, with the RBI and Government urging caution. A major step towards regulation was the Budget 2022, which formally introduced a steep 30% tax on Virtual Digital Assets (VDAs) profits, alongside a 1% TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) on all asset transfers. All crypto exchanges operating within the country have been successfully placed under stringent KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti Money Laundering) regulations and are directly supervised by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Although a 2018 RBI directive prohibiting operations was later lifted, India is still at a regulatory crossroads compared to established frameworks like Japan's centralized approach or the fragmented US model.
The path toward effective crypto regulation faces several key challenges that threaten to undermine domestic innovation. The high taxation structure (30% tax plus 1% TDS) is a significant deterrent, actively driving legitimate trading activity and capital offshore to more favorable jurisdictions. The regulatory environment is also burdened by overlapping regulators and a clear lack of a unified regulatory framework, causing confusion for both industry participants and consumers. Furthermore, significant consumer protection gaps and the high risk of fraud continue to pose a threat to retail investors who lack adequate legal recourse. The industry also grapples with serious concerns regarding AML/CFT compliance, ensuring the traceability of funds, and the potential for systemic risk to the wider financial architecture. Finally, the country faces a limited pool of specialized skills in the blockchain and crypto space, insufficient R&D investment, and underdeveloped infrastructure to support a robust, on-shore VDA ecosystem.
The necessary path forward must be clearly defined across short, medium, and long-term phases to balance risk and opportunity. Over the Short Term (1 Year), policymakers must prioritize a comprehensive review of the current TDS and loss offset rules to incentivize trading volumes back onshore and foster market liquidity. This initial period also requires the establishment of an Inter-Ministerial VDA Coordination Cell to streamline regulatory oversight. Crucially, the government must issue clear consumer protection and custody standards to instill confidence among retail investors, along with implementing intensive investor education and awareness measures to inform the public about both VDA risks and opportunities. In the Medium Term (3 years), the focus shifts to creating a robust regulatory structure for the industry. This involves establishing a mandatory licensing framework for all exchanges and custodians to ensure institutional stability and accountability. There should be a significant expansion of regulatory sandboxes to encourage responsible innovation and testing of new financial technologies. A major step will be to fully implement the AML Travel-Rule, ensuring seamless integration with the FIU's monitoring systems. Furthermore, a nationwide consumer education program should be deployed to raise the overall digital financial literacy of the populace. In the Long Term (7 years) aim for a mature, future-proof VDA market. This requires the passage of a comprehensive VDA classification law, clearly defining digital assets as either payment, utility, or security tokens to apply appropriate regulations. The goal is to establish a unified oversight model or designate a single lead regulator to eliminate jurisdictional ambiguity. Finally, the framework should ensure interoperability with the CBDC and actively encourage green mining policies to align the VDA sector with national sustainability goals.
Bridging the Digital Divide in India
India has achieved substantial progress in expanding digital access, evidenced by a massive user base of over 806 million internet users and the encouraging statistic that 86% of households now having internet connectivity. Despite this impressive reach, significant disparities persist across several critical dimensions, including the quality and consistency of connectivity, the affordability of digital services, the pervasive lack of digital literacy, issues of gender inclusion, and the limited availability of local language content. During its G20 presidency, India successfully highlighted the global need for investment in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), advocating for a collaborative international framework rooted in principles of safety, security, accountability, trustworthiness, and inclusivity.
An analysis of the current status reveals that Internet penetration across the total population currently stands at approximately 55%, indicating significant potential for inclusion growth. The national BharatNet initiative is actively progressing, working to connect Gram Panchayats with robust fiber optic infrastructure. However, structural issues such as a significant gender gap in usage and ongoing affordability challenges for data and devices continue to limit true universal digital empowerment.
The path to fully bridging the digital divide must overcome several fundamental obstacles that impede complete digital equality and inclusion. A major challenge remains last-mile connectivity and service quality gaps, particularly in remote and rural areas where infrastructure is thin, leading to inconsistent user experience. The affordability of both devices and data plans continues to be a barrier for low-income segments, limiting their ability to fully participate in the digital economy. There is a widespread issue of low digital literacy and trust, with many citizens lacking the essential skills or confidence to navigate platforms securely. This is exacerbated by limited local language services, which excludes a large portion of the population. Finally, persistent gender, accessibility, and online safety concerns disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, requiring dedicated protective and inclusionary measures. To effectively move forward and ensure universal digital inclusion, a strategic multi-pronged approach is required. The BharatNet project must be completed swiftly to ensure open access and resilient last-mile infrastructure across all rural areas. The government needs to aggressively expand PM-WANI networks and invest in innovative hybrid satellite/mesh solutions to cover the most remote geographical areas. Targeted device affordability programs are necessary, specifically designed for low-income populations and women to overcome the cost barrier to entry. The creation of safe, inclusive digital spaces and women-led access centers will address safety and confidence concerns. It is also crucial to develop offline-first public services supported by robust, accessible grievance redress mechanisms. The government must redesign the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) subsidies to specifically target the most critical gaps in last-mile connectivity and low-income access.
AI Regulations and Ethics in India
India is at a crucial juncture in developing its AI regulations, balancing innovation with safety and accountability. The foundations for ethical governance are established through the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (DPDP) and the NITI Aayog’s Responsible AI framework, setting out initial principles. However, there is an urgent need to operationalize these principles through practical mechanisms, requiring immediate strengthening of protocols for ethical AI audits, standardized bias checks, clear enforcement of consent rules, and the application of proportionate penalties for malicious AI usage, all essential for Vikshit Bharat 2047.
The current regulatory landscape for AI is marked by progressive developments that are setting the stage for future governance. NITI Aayog and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) have been proactive, issuing core AI ethics principles and actively working to develop necessary technical standards that will guide industry practice. The foundational DPDP Act 2023 establishes a clear framework for data protection and user consent, with detailed implementation rules currently being formalized. Furthermore, while cybercrime laws exist under the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to cover digital offences generally, specific criminal sanctions tailored to address and deter AI-related offenses remain limited in scope and application, posing a challenge for emerging threats.
Despite these foundational steps, the path to a trusted AI ecosystem is marked by several significant challenges that demand immediate regulatory foresight. There is a distinct lack of independent and standardized ethical AI audit mechanisms that can reliably assess the compliance and risks associated with AI systems before deployment. India also suffers from no common bias-testing frameworks or access to sufficiently representative datasets, making it difficult to systematically identify and correct algorithmic bias across various demographic groups. The practical implementation of consent rules under the DPDP Act remains ambiguous, leaving both developers and consumers uncertain. Furthermore, there is a weak deterrence against malicious AI uses, most notably the creation and proliferation of sophisticated deepfakes and autonomous financial fraud. The country faces limited institutional capacity due to a shortage of skilled auditors, datasets, and government expertise to manage complex AI challenges, with a significant systemic issue being the inherent difficulty in assigning clear accountability for AI decisions and harms, especially with self-learning and autonomous systems. To successfully navigate these challenges, the AI regulatory strategy must be proactive and clearly defined. The government must formally establish tiered AI risk-based audits, where compliance is independently verified by BIS-accredited independent labs. It is essential to create national benchmark datasets and standardize bias-check metrics to systematically promote fairness and non-discrimination across all AI models used in the country. Consent under the DPDP Act must be fully operationalized through the creation of certified consent managers and mandatory user-friendly disclosures, ensuring true informed user choice. The legal framework must be strengthened to define AI-specific offences such as deepfakes and autonomous fraud backed by clear, proportionate penalties to act as a deterrent. Both CERT-In and law enforcement agencies must be strengthened and specifically trained to handle complex AI-incident response and investigation. The government should incentivize compliance through mechanisms like regulatory sandboxes, R&D tax credits, and public procurement preferences given to ethically compliant AI solutions.
Streamline Patent Regulations in India to Spur Innovation
India’s patent regime has undergone meaningful modernization, marked by significant policy pushes, the introduction of the 2024 rule changes, and the successful adoption of digital filing processes. Consequently, patent filings and grants have demonstrably risen, indicating positive engagement from the ecosystem. However, to fully realize the goal of converting Intellectual Property (IP) into broad-based industrial growth for the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, further, targeted steps are necessary. The country needs to urgently simplify complicated procedures, significantly expand the capacity of patent examiners, introduce AI-assisted search technologies for faster processing, and fundamentally modernize enforcement mechanisms to suit the digital age. These combined actions are vital to ensuring India can protect its innovators effectively while simultaneously safeguarding affordable public access to essential technologies and facilitating strategic, innovation-driven industrial expansion.
The existing patent environment is built upon a TRIPS-compliant regime established under the Patents Act, 1970, and is fully aligned with the principles laid out in the National IPR Policy (2016). The 2024 Patent Rules introduced important amendments, successfully streamlining application timelines, rationalizing fees, and clarifying compliance requirements, while comprehensive e-filing and digital systems are now successfully integrated into the process. The country has observed a healthy trend of rising domestic filings and grants, indicating a growing culture of innovation. However, a significant dependency remains, as the majority of high-value patents being granted within India still originate from foreign applicants, highlighting a gap in indigenous high-quality IP generation. Positive momentum is sustained by dedicated initiatives like Startup IPR support, offering various forms of assistance, alongside mechanisms for expedited examination and continued efforts toward process digitalization.
Despite the recent modernization efforts, the patent system faces persistent structural and procedural challenges. The current procedures are often criticized for being complex and costly, a barrier that actively discourages participation from small firms and individual, independent inventors who lack large legal teams. Significant examination backlogs continue to be a problem, which risks critical delays in the crucial commercialization phase for new technologies, reducing their market viability. Weak enforcement mechanisms in digital and industrial settings limit innovators' confidence that their rights can be adequately protected, often leading to a reluctance to pursue patent filings. A wide awareness gap exists among SMEs, universities, and institutions in Tier-2/3 cities, limiting their engagement with the formal IP system. Furthermore, limited industry–academia linkages result in a low conversion rate of granted patents into commercially viable products, and a key area of ambiguity involves Patent Law for Computer-Related Inventions (CRIs), where Section 3(k) of the Act, excluding "computer programs per se" and "algorithms," creates confusion for emerging technologies like AI and blockchain, requiring clear reforms. To ensure that patent regulation truly acts as an Innovation Catalyst, a comprehensive set of reforms across procedural, R&D, and enforcement domains is critical.
Procedural simplification is key. Establishing a one-stop digital patent dashboard, introducing a clear curing provision for minor lapses, and creating tiered fast-track lanes for startups, MSMEs, and strategically important sectors will speed up the application process. To spur R&D, the government should institute patent-linked R&D tax credits, establish innovation clusters in Tier-2 cities, encourage patent pools and open platforms, integrate IPR education into academic curricula, create a National Patent Fund for SMEs, and promote co-ownership models for patents to facilitate collaboration. Enforcement must be strengthened through specialized IP benches and dedicated e-courts, coupled with the integration of IPR protection into Customs and marketplace protocols and the establishment of tech-transfer facilitation cells and patent valuation mechanisms to support credit markets. Global alignment should be sought by expanding the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and boosting participation in global standards bodies for SEPs (Standard Essential Patents). For complex AI-generated inventions, an “Innovation Oversight” approach is proposed, granting patents to entities that exercise genuine intellectual control, thus aligning with existing patent principles. Addressing the lack of Specialized Expertise is crucial, requiring the creation of specialized units trained in software and emerging technologies for CRI patent examination to reduce delays and inconsistencies.
Conclusion: A Coherent Path to Sovereignty and Trust
The road to 2047 will require sustained investment, institutional innovation, and policy coherence. India must synchronize chip design and fabrication with cloud and compute scale; embed multilingual, culturally grounded AI into public services; and ensure startup friendly yet safety conscious regulation. Likewise, consumer protection must stay adaptive to technological evolution, expanding from static disclosures to dynamic accountability with continuous monitoring and redress. If India executes on these pillars with clarity and conviction,backed by mission mode financing, open standards, and inclusive participation ,it can secure digital sovereignty and set global benchmarks for ethical, inclusive, and future ready technology governance.
References
1. Government of India, MeitY: India AI Mission; India Semiconductor Mission materials (2024–25).
2. National Supercomputing Mission. PARAM systems deployment updates and capability briefs, 2020–2025.
3. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). UPI statistics and monthly transaction reports, 2023–2025.
4. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Text and rules.
5. Consumer Affairs, Government of India. Consumer Protection Act, 2019: Text and rules.
6. European Union. Artificial Intelligence Act: Negotiated text and regulatory summaries, 2023–2024.
7. People’s Republic of China. Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), Cybersecurity Law (CSL), Data Security Law (DSL), and sectoral regulations on recommendation algorithms and deep synthesis, 2022–2024.
8. NITI Aayog. Responsible AI for All: Strategy for India, 2021.
9. UNCTAD. Global AI Investment Trends: Annual reports, 2023–2024.
10. Stanford University. AI Index Report: Talent flows and investment indicators, 2023–2025.
11. Israel Democracy Institute. Policy analyses on cloud sovereignty and crisis resilience, 2023–2024.
12. World Bank. Digital identity frameworks and global case studies, eIDAS and Estonia profiles, 2022–2024.
13. AISHE. All India Survey on Higher Education (for contextual talent statistics), 2022–2024
14. Ministry of Electronics and IT: Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
15. NEP 2020, Ministry of Education, India.
16. Buolamwini J., Gebru T., “Gender Shades” (2018).
17. Stanford AI Index; UNCTAD reports on AI investment trends.