Binary Semantics at ASSOCHAM International Conference: Driving Sovereign Tech for India’s Digital Transformation

• New Delhi, 18 September, 2025
• 4 Mins read

New Delhi, August 1, 2025 – Binary Semantics participated in the “ASSOCHAM International Conference on “Sovereign Tech for India’s Digital Transformation”, held at Shangri-La, New Delhi. The event convened policymakers, industry leaders, and technology innovators to deliberate on one of the most urgent issues of our time: ensuring digital sovereignty for India in an era of rapid digitization, AI breakthroughs, and global geopolitical uncertainties. 

Why Sovereign Tech Matters Now 

The thought leaders’ discussions on ‘Emerging Trends in Digital Sovereignty’ underscored that sovereignty is no longer an abstract policy debate, but a real-time national necessity. With India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) stack now supporting nearly a billion citizens, the stakes are higher than ever. We would like to highlight some impactful thoughts from the discussion. 

Ajay Marar, Partner – Technology Consulting, EY, and Moderator of the session, framed the urgency upfront: 

“Digital sovereignty is no longer a distant concept—it is here and now. As India rapidly digitizes, questions of who controls our data and safeguards our infrastructure are central to national security, cybersecurity, and economic independence. With advances in AI and quantum computing, the stakes have never been higher. Globally, nations are investing in sovereign cloud, and India must chart its own path to ensure resilience and self-reliance.” 

Kapil Kapoor, Country Lead – India & South Asia, Google Distributed Cloud Sales, shared his perspective on how sovereignty is understood globally: 

“Sovereignty means different things to different countries. But in today’s context, it rests on three pillars—data sovereignty, operational sovereignty, and software sovereignty. Customers increasingly demand all three, and with the right controls and solutions now available, sovereign cloud can be delivered at scale.” 

Data Sovereignty

Ensuring sensitive and sectoral data (healthcare, BFSI, governance) is stored, processed, and controlled within India’s jurisdiction. 

Akhil Choudhary, CEO & Managing Partner, Vaco Binary Semantics and Founder & Chairman Binary Semantics Ltd., emphasized the growing importance of data as a national resource:  

“Data, as we know, is already a currency globally. Forty to fifty years ago, we used to talk about oil as gold, but today data has become a universally pervading currency across the world. The economic prosperity of nations will increasingly be defined by how effectively they harness and utilize data.”

Operational Sovereignty

Infrastructure must be owned, managed, and monitored within the country—by Indian entities bound by Indian laws. 

As Sunando Bhattacharya, Sr. Exec. Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) from Yotta Data Services rightfully mentioned, “100% localized operations are very critical. From ownership and monitoring to management, nothing should happen outside the country. That’s where true sovereignty lies.” 

Software Sovereignty

Reducing dependency on external providers through open-source adoption and Make-in-India innovation. 

Kishore Balaji Desikachari, Executive Director – Government & Regulatory Affairs, IBM mentioned, “Sovereignty today must cover three pillars—data, operational, and software. Customers want all three by design.” 

The underlying message was clear: sovereignty is not about isolation, but about building resilience, trust, and self-reliance while still enabling openness, innovation, and collaboration. 

Global Lessons, India’s Case 

Comparisons were drawn with global models like Europe’s GDPR-led sovereignty, USA’s FedRAMP and the Cloud Act and Singapore and Australia’s pragmatic sovereign cloud framework where everyone agrees India must craft a homegrown model that fits its unique scale, regulatory needs, and socio-economic realities. 

Emerging Themes 

Zero Trust Security 

A strong emphasis was placed on the Zero Trust approach—where no interaction is trusted by default. For government services handling citizen data, this layered security is key to preventing breaches and ensuring continuity even during conflicts or cyber-attacks. 

Rohit Chauhan, India Head – Corporate Affairs, TCS quoted: “Compliance cannot be an afterthought. A sovereign cloud built with Zero Trust and compliance embedded into the design will always outperform bolt-on solutions.” 

Sovereign Cloud as a Foundation 

Sovereign cloud was seen as the enabler of digital transformation in governance, capable of: 

• Meeting sectoral compliance mandates (RBI, healthcare, energy, defense) 
• Embedding compliance into the architecture by design rather than as an afterthought 
• Ensuring real-time audit trails, traceability, and resilience 

Sharing his vision on sovereign cloud for India, Mr. Choudhary emphasised the role of a secure, India-first cloud ecosystem:

“India definitely needs to have a cloud architecture blueprint for the country which addresses regulatory requirements across different sectors. This should be built on open standards and APIs, ensuring we are not locked by any one vendor or country. Spread partnerships across geographies, leverage indigenous technologies, and build resilience against conflicts and cyber threats.” 

AI + Data – A Two-Way Street and Geopolitical Imperative 

The leaders noted that AI is not just powered by data, but now actively improves it—through data cleaning, compliance tagging, and anomaly detection. AI was also positioned as preventive within the cloud infra itself, helping detect risks before they occur. The sovereign cloud will unlock new possibilities by aligning AI-driven compliance and governance frameworks with India’s local needs. 

Where Do We Go from Here? 

India stands at a digital crossroads. With the right mix of policy, technology, and industry collaboration, the country can lead the world in creating a sovereign, secure, and inclusive digital economy. 

Binary Semantics is proud to play a role in this journey—delivering secure, compliant, and sovereign-ready solutions that empower India’s digital transformation.