In a significant stride toward strengthening India’s digital sovereignty, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) have signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop India’s sovereign cloud. The MoU was formalised at Tec-Verse 2025 in New Delhi, in the presence of senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), including Secretary S Krishnan and Additional Secretary Amitesh Kumar Sinha.
The collaboration is aimed at ensuring that critical digital infrastructure — including data, servers, and cloud systems — remains within national boundaries, supporting the government’s goal of achieving 100% data localisation and technological self-reliance.
“The MoU’s main focus is on India’s sovereign cloud,” said D Ethirajan, Scientist and Centre Head, C-DAC Chennai. “While we are beginning with cloud computing, this partnership also opens doors to joint innovation in emerging areas like quantum computing, AI/ML, and indigenous chip development.”
Emphasising the national importance of the initiative, Magesh E, Director General of C-DAC, stated:
“Most cloud services today don’t offer data residency assurance. This partnership ensures that servers, systems, and data centers all remain within India, aligning with the government’s Digital India and data protection mandates.”
The sovereign cloud initiative is expected to be the cornerstone for sensitive and mission-critical applications across sectors including defence, healthcare, finance, and governance.
Highlighting the roadmap for taking these technologies to market, Pramod P J, Corporate R&D and Scientist at C-DAC, noted:
“TCS brings unmatched global scale and reach. They can take India’s indigenous R&D — in quantum computing, high-performance computing, and processor design — and productise it for the larger society. This is how we build long-term self-reliance in core technologies.”
Why This Matters
- Sovereign cloud will allow India to control its data infrastructure and reduce dependency on foreign cloud providers.
- The collaboration aligns with India’s broader push in semiconductors, AI, and quantum computing under programs like Digital India, India AI Mission, and the National Quantum Mission.
- This MoU represents a rare convergence of public R&D excellence and private sector scale, setting a precedent for future national tech infrastructure projects.
With this MoU, India takes a giant leap toward asserting digital sovereignty — not just hosting data locally but building the tech stack, chips, and computation layers that will power the country’s digital future.
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