Technology news focusing on India in February 2024 captured headlines on opportunities, developments and challenges including: India’s maritime cybersecurity, around ports, logistics, shipping and beyond; concerns raised by the World Semiconductor Council on India’s chip design demands; the use of ‘digital twin’ technologies in India’s cities and industries; FDI rule changes allowing greater foreign involvement in India’s space industry, and more.
For more technology news from across Asia and the Indo-Pacific, you should take a look at our daily editions and weekly newsletters.
PwC India Payments Handbook 2023-2028 (direct pdf link)
- India: Indus Appstore Emerging Startup Awards launch with applications closing March 5th, a partnership between Startup India and PhonePe’s app store
- Startup India initiative saw major cutbacks in 2024 Union Budget, with Fund of Funds Scheme and Credit Guarantee scheme allocations cut, and overall program budget cut
- India: Twyn lands place with Suzuki’s India startup accelerator with ‘digital twin’ tech for manufacturers and OEMS, creating digital clones of physical assets and environments
- India: Gov’t launches Digital India FutureLABS programme to boost the electronics system design and manufacturing sector, aiming for an ecosystem approach to IP, standards and next-gen electronics
Deloitte, NASSCOM, ISA: Opportunities for Indian downstream spacetech
- India: Tata Group to enter the online food ordering sector with its super app, Tata Neu, integrating with the government-created Open Network for Digital Commerce
- Microsoft partners India’s Sarvam AI startup to bring Sarvam’s Indic voice large language model to Microsoft Azure, implementing Hindi as first output language
- India: Paymart partnered by 5 Indian banks for virtual, cardless, hardware-less cash withdrawals, allowing for instance shopkeepers to offer cash withdrawals without ATMs or other hardware
- India: Microsoft ‘Code; Without Barriers’ program sets sights on skilling and certifying 75,000 women developers in India in 2024 in cloud, AI, and digital technologies
- India: Hong Kong’s Clearbot marine-tech startup to launch a fleet of solar-powered autonomous boats to help clear river and ocean-borne pollution in India’s rivers
“In India, cybersecurity still does not attract the attention it needs – let alone cybersecurity of the maritime domain and its assets. India aspires to develop mega ports, modern port infrastructure, and transshipment hubs per its Maritime India Vision (MIV) 2030 and Amrit Kaal Vision 2047. This would require increased automation and better management systems and facilities. Increased interconnectedness with online systems, in turn, would make India’s maritime critical infrastructure more vulnerable to cyberattacks.”
“As geopolitical tensions mount, Indian ports and maritime industries will see more cyberattacks from adversaries, particularly with antagonizing projects such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, which threatens traditional trade routes. In 2022, India’s JNPT was targeted by a cyberattack that crippled its automated system, and forced the system to return to offline methods, exposing the vulnerabilities.”
- India: Creators United Fest 2024 set for March 15, aiming to be Asia’s largest creatives-focused fest by gathering industry experts, brands, publishers and performers in Maharashtra
- India: Department of Telecommunications launches Sangam Digital Twin initiative to explore future infrastructure planning and design, aiming to leverage emerging and high-impact technologies
- India: A brief intro to Physics Wallah and other online test-preparation startups, seeing the industry as an opportunity for Netflix-style subscription models
- India: Vidyut raises $10M Series A to scale full-stack EV finance focus, incorporating insurance, lifecycle management and EV resale
EY: The AIdea of India – the economic potential for Generative AI
- India: Taiwan’s Taisys preps for $100M investment in India subsidiary to focus on semiconductor design and production for the auto and electric vehicle sectors
- India: Space sector set to grow with Indian cabinet approving FDI rules amendment allowing overseas investment in the sector, in some cases up to 100%
- World Semiconductor Council writes to India’s Prime Minister raising concerns over proposed tariffs on digital commerce and transfers of chip design data
- India: An overview of 4 schemes under the $10BN Semicon India programme, aiming to secure semiconductor supply chains, create jobs and more
Deloitte: NewSpace, India’s space perspective
- India: Uber inks MOU with government-backed open network for digital commerce, ONDC, to integrate with the network for wider payment options, with ONDC gaining from additional exposure
- India: Government commences evaluation of $21BN worth of semiconductor-related proposals, both domestica and international, with gov’t set to bear half of costs
- Taiwan’s Wistron Corp’n inks MOU with India’s Karnataka government for manufacturing plant in the state, set to produce laptops, IoT items and EV components
- A look at the opportunities presented by India-Australia technology skills-focused migration
- “Or said another way, if they [BRICS economies] want to cut out the dollar – and essentially the West – who will run the deficits required to absorb the BRICS excesses?”
Assessing the Criticality of Minerals for India: Fact Sheets
Asia’s tech news: Other editions
Deloitte & NASSCOM: India’s emerging technology hubs
Email newsletters
Asia’s tech news:
Weekly newsletter on LinkedIn
Indo-Pacific tech:
Weekly newsletter on Substack
