At a time when the world is witnessing crippling cyberattacks, a stark reminder resounds: the battlefield of tomorrow is not just on land, sea or air, it’s in cyberspace. Ongoing attacks at major European airports, causing widespread delays, demonstrate how fragile digital systems truly are. Yet these incidents are only the beginning. The real threat lies deeper, in the vulnerabilities of national digital assets and the technologies that protect them.
Wars are no longer fought solely with boots crossing borders. The latest conflict unfolded differently from those of the past, missiles flew without pilots crossing lines. In the future, these same missiles could be hijacked mid-flight if encryption fails. The culprit? Quantum computing.
Today’s encryption depends on multiplying massive prime numbers seemingly unbreakable by traditional computers. To crack a 2048-bit key would take eight billion years. But a quantum computer could reduce that to just six hours. That means everything including passwords, WhatsApp messages, financial transactions, even missile codes, could be exposed. In such a scenario, the risk is not merely delayed flights but the terrifying possibility of a hijacked nuclear missile.
Recognising this, the Government of India has set up a high-level committee under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to secure the nation’s digital future. The stakes are nothing short of sovereignty itself. Whether it is sensitive government discussions, financial markets or nuclear power plants, India’s digital backbone is under siege from future threats that quantum power makes real today.
The constructive outlook is encouraging: the government is mobilising resources, scientific bodies are preparing strategies and citizens are steadily being educated
The message is unambiguous: digital sovereignty is now as vital as territorial integrity. The urgency of action cannot be overstated. India cannot afford a future where a missile fired from Rajasthan returns to strike within its own borders. Protecting national assets requires rethinking encryption, preparing for quantum disruptions and building indigenous security frameworks that anticipate threats rather than merely respond to them.
The constructive outlook is encouraging: the government is mobilising resources, scientific bodies are preparing strategies and citizens are steadily being educated against scams. What is needed now is speed, innovation and strong collaboration across sectors. Each layer of society – policy, industry, research and civil society – must rise together to secure India’s digital destiny. In the coming years, sovereignty will not be decided only by armies and borders but by how well nations secure their digital foundations. The call to action is clear: India must act decisively before the next war is fought and possibly not lost, in cyberspace.
India is at an inflection point where economic growth must be matched with technological leadership. The future belongs to nations that create distinctive technologies, not just provide services or commodities. This opens a unique opportunity for India to reimagine its path toward Viksit Bharat by weaving together research, policy and markets into a powerful Triple Helix that fosters resilience, self-reliance and global relevance.
The transition from a “job shop” economy to a hub of innovation is already underway. The India Stack has shown how techno-legal regulation and grassroots innovation can transform an entire sector, enabling the country to contribute over half of global digital transactions despite its modest share in world trade. This model provides a blueprint for the next wave of transformation, one where product companies thrive alongside services and where ecosystems, not isolated firms, become the true measure of success.
The Triple Helix approach is central to this journey. Research institutions bring ideas and breakthroughs; policymakers create frameworks that encourage experimentation and protect innovation; and, markets provide the capital, confidence and demand needed to scale. When these three strands work in concert, they generate resilient ecosystems capable of competing globally. The success of Bengaluru’s research and technology community demonstrates that this is not just aspiration, it is achievable and replicable.
The constructive path forward lies not in isolationism or dependence on foreign centres but in building strategic value chains at home, encouraging researchers to become entrepreneurs
To realise its full potential, however, India must strengthen the other two strands of the helix. Delhi can move from bureaucratic silos toward empowering technocrats who are equipped to drive moonshot projects and build on India’s strengths in areas like AI, quantum and green technologies. Mumbai, home to the nation’s most profitable corporations, can evolve from being cautious spenders on R&D to active champions of innovation. Even a modest rise in corporate R&D investment to global benchmarks would unleash transformative capacity across sectors and set new standards for private sector leadership.
The constructive path forward lies not in isolationism or dependence on foreign centres but in building strategic value chains at home, encouraging researchers to become entrepreneurs and ensuring that markets reward innovation as much as efficiency.
By aligning the energies of its research hubs, policy institutions and corporate powerhouses, India can leapfrog into the league of nations that shape the future of technology. Bengaluru has already shown what readiness looks like. If Delhi and Mumbai rise to complement it, India will not just avoid the middle-income trap, it will lead the way forward.
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