Bharath Digital Infrastructure Association (BDIA) has called for a national sovereign digital infrastructure framework as India enters the next phase of growth in the AI and data economy, with industry leaders and policymakers pushing for stronger domestic capabilities across cloud, AI, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure.
The industry body made the announcement during its flagship policy forum Bharat Digital Samvad: The Foundation Forum.
Held under the theme ‘From Adoption to Command: Architecting India’s Sovereign Digital Future’, the summit brought together government officials, technology executives, policy experts and digital infrastructure stakeholders to discuss India’s transition from being a large-scale digital consumer to building and controlling the foundational layers of its digital ecosystem.
The event also marked the formal public launch of BDIA as a not-for-profit industry association focused on advancing sovereign digital infrastructure and enabling collaboration between industry, government, academia and strategic institutions.
Key discussions at the forum centred around reducing dependence on foreign-controlled digital ecosystems, strengthening sovereign cloud and compute infrastructure, advancing trusted AI frameworks and creating policy support for domestic technology providers.
The summit featured policy sessions focused on sovereign compute infrastructure, digital governance frameworks, indigenous hardware capabilities and market access mechanisms for Indian technology companies.
According to the association, BDIA will submit a comprehensive policy recommendation framework to government stakeholders covering areas such as sovereign AI standards, trusted cloud certification systems, domestic digital product certification and long-term digital governance frameworks.
Speaking at the event, Piyush Somani, who is also Chairman and MD of ESDS Software Solution, said India has reached a defining stage in its digital transformation journey.
He noted that while the country has emerged as a global leader in digital adoption, the next phase of growth must focus on building digital infrastructure that is designed, governed and scaled from within India.
Somani added that as AI, cloud and cybersecurity increasingly become core to economic growth and national resilience, India must strengthen domestic technology capabilities and reduce strategic dependencies across critical digital infrastructure layers.
Secretary General Abhishek Bhatt said the forum reflected growing urgency among policymakers and industry stakeholders to establish a stronger framework around India’s digital sovereignty ambitions.
According to Bhatt, discussions at the conclave highlighted the need for collaborative policymaking, ecosystem investments and procurement reforms to ensure India not only adopts digital technologies at scale but also owns and develops the infrastructure powering its digital economy.
Industry leaders at the event also highlighted the importance of frameworks such as Bharat Cloud Certification (BCC), Trusted Indian Digital Product (TIDP) and Digital Sovereignty Maturity Models (DSMM) to support indigenous innovation, domestic IP creation and trusted digital ecosystems.
The forum concluded with participants backing the creation of a nationally aligned sovereign digital infrastructure framework aimed at strengthening India’s position as a globally competitive and self-reliant digital economy.
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