India likes to talk about building AI. Prime ministers give speeches about it. Policy documents run to hundreds of pages. The IndiaAI Mission has been allocated tens of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs, the same American chips India has no ability to replicate and the country's biggest tech ambitions are being staked on hardware it cannot design, fabricate or control. Before the AI conversation gets any further, it is worth asking a simpler, more uncomfortable question: has India ever actually built a computer or a mobile phone on its own? The honest answer is no.&nbsp;The Chips Were Never Indian&nbsp;Every device that has been called an Indian computer or an Indian smartphone has been assembled around a foreign processor. HCL, often cited as a pioneer of Indian computing, built its early personal computers around Intel chips running Microsoft DOS and, later, Windows. The operating system was American. The silicon was American. The Indian contribution was the chassis and the brand name. Lava International, the most credible claimant to the Made-in-India smartphone title, today ships its Agni series running MediaTek's Dimensity 8350 chipset, a Taiwanese design fabricated in fabs India has no access to, on top of Google's Android. According to Lava's own product listings, there is no Indian silicon inside any phone it sells.&nbsp;The Best India Has Produced and What It Means&nbsp;India does have an indigenous processor. The Dhruv64, unveiled in December 2025 by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing under the government's Microprocessor Development Programme, is a 64-bit dual-core chip running at 1.0GHz. According to the Press Information Bureau, it is designed for embedded systems, not consumer devices. To put that in context: Intel's Core i7-14700K has 20 cores and boosts to 5.6GHz. Apple's M-series chips, found in every MacBook sold today, have up to 16 cores with neural engines that run billions of operations per second. The Dhruv64 is not a consumer chip. It will not appear in any phone or laptop you can buy. It is, by the government's own description, a starting point.&nbsp;The OS Story Is No Better&nbsp;BharOS, the Indian mobile operating system developed by IIT Madras and launched with considerable fanfare in January 2023, was supposed to be India's answer to Android. According to Wikipedia and multiple technology publications, BharOS is a closed-source Android fork, meaning it is built on top of the same open-source code that Google's Android uses. As of mid-2026, it has not shipped in a single commercial consumer device. Lava executives had announced in February 2024 that 500 Lava phones would run BharOS within six months. That did not happen. BharOS remains a government-institutional project. The Shakti processor from IIT Madras, India's other flagship chip initiative, is targeting a 7nm design by 2028. It too is not in any device a civilian can purchase.&nbsp;The AI+ Scandal Summed It Up&nbsp;If one story captures where Indian hardware ambition actually stands, it is the AI+ smartphone controversy of 2025. AI+, led by former Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth, was marketed as India's first fully sovereign smartphone, engineered in India, data stored in India, built to counter Chinese surveillance risks. According to reporting by IBTimes UK and Free Press Journal, technology reviewers and YouTubers publicly challenged whether the device was anything more than a Chinese white-label product with Indian packaging. The company responded with legal action against critics rather than transparency about its supply chain. A phone marketed as the antidote to Chinese hardware dependency turned out to share the same problem it was sold to solve.&nbsp;No GPU, No AI&nbsp;The most direct evidence that India is not ready to build AI is its complete absence from the GPU supply chain. According to The Print, the lack of an indigenous GPU is a direct stumbling block to India's AI self-reliance ambitions. India's IndiaAI Mission runs on NVIDIA hardware. The country's largest supercomputer cluster operates on just 700 GPUs, a figure that trails what a single mid-sized American university research lab deploys. India is also subject to US export control caps, with a reported ceiling of 50,000 advanced GPUs under existing regulations. According to the Organiser, indigenous GPU development is targeted for demonstration by end of 2025 and production by 2029. Demonstration. Not production. Not deployment.&nbsp;The Honest Reckoning&nbsp;India has built engineers. It has built services firms. It has produced researchers who work on AI at Google, Meta and OpenAI. What it has not built is the physical layer: the fabs, the chip architectures, the GPU clusters, the operating systems deployed at consumer scale. TIFRAC, India's first indigenous computer, was completed in 1960. It took six years to build and was never followed by a second. Sixty-six years later, the country's best commercial chip runs at 1GHz. The gap between where India is and where AI infrastructure actually begins is not a policy problem. It is an industrial problem — one that takes decades, not mission statements, to close. Claiming AI leadership while importing every chip that runs it is not a strategy. It is branding.

India's AI superpower pitch collapses under scrutiny: its best chip runs at 1GHz, BharOS hasn't shipped in a single consumer phone, and every 'Made in India' device runs on foreign silicon and a foreign OS.

India likes to talk about building AI. Prime ministers give speeches about it. Policy documents run to hundreds of pages. The IndiaAI Mission has been allocated tens of thousands of NVIDIA GPUs, the same American chips India has no ability to replicate and the country's biggest tech ambitions are being staked on hardware it cannot design, fabricate or control. Before the AI conversation gets any further, it is worth asking a simpler, more uncomfortable question: has India ever actually built a computer or a mobile phone on its own? The honest answer is no. The Chips Were Never Indian Every device that has been called an Indian computer or an Indian smartphone has been assembled around a foreign processor. HCL, often cited as a pioneer of Indian computing, built its early personal computers around Intel chips running Microsoft DOS and, later, Windows. The operating system was American. The silicon was American. The Indian contribution was the chassis and the brand name. Lava International, the most credible claimant to the Made-in-India smartphone title, today ships its Agni series running MediaTek's Dimensity 8350 chipset, a Taiwanese design fabricated in fabs India has no access to, on top of Google's Android. According to Lava's own product listings, there is no Indian silicon inside any phone it sells. The Best India Has Produced and What It Means India does have an indigenous processor. The Dhruv64, unveiled in December 2025 by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing under the government's Microprocessor Development Programme, is a 64-bit dual-core chip running at 1.0GHz. According to the Press Information Bureau, it is designed for embedded systems, not consumer devices. To put that in context: Intel's Core i7-14700K has 20 cores and boosts to 5.6GHz. Apple's M-series chips, found in every MacBook sold today, have up to 16 cores with neural engines that run billions of operations per second. The Dhruv64 is not a consumer chip. It will not appear in any phone or laptop you can buy. It is, by the government's own description, a starting point. The OS Story Is No Better BharOS, the Indian mobile operating system developed by IIT Madras and launched with considerable fanfare in January 2023, was supposed to be India's answer to Android. According to Wikipedia and multiple technology publications, BharOS is a closed-source Android fork, meaning it is built on top of the same open-source code that Google's Android uses. As of mid-2026, it has not shipped in a single commercial consumer device. Lava executives had announced in February 2024 that 500 Lava phones would run BharOS within six months. That did not happen. BharOS remains a government-institutional project. The Shakti processor from IIT Madras, India's other flagship chip initiative, is targeting a 7nm design by 2028. It too is not in any device a civilian can purchase. The AI+ Scandal Summed It Up If one story captures where Indian hardware ambition actually stands, it is the AI+ smartphone controversy of 2025. AI+, led by former Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth, was marketed as India's first fully sovereign smartphone, engineered in India, data stored in India, built to counter Chinese surveillance risks. According to reporting by IBTimes UK and Free Press Journal, technology reviewers and YouTubers publicly challenged whether the device was anything more than a Chinese white-label product with Indian packaging. The company responded with legal action against critics rather than transparency about its supply chain. A phone marketed as the antidote to Chinese hardware dependency turned out to share the same problem it was sold to solve. No GPU, No AI The most direct evidence that India is not ready to build AI is its complete absence from the GPU supply chain. According to The Print, the lack of an indigenous GPU is a direct stumbling block to India's AI self-reliance ambitions. India's IndiaAI Mission runs on NVIDIA hardware. The country's largest supercomputer cluster operates on just 700 GPUs, a figure that trails what a single mid-sized American university research lab deploys. India is also subject to US export control caps, with a reported ceiling of 50,000 advanced GPUs under existing regulations. According to the Organiser, indigenous GPU development is targeted for demonstration by end of 2025 and production by 2029. Demonstration. Not production. Not deployment. The Honest Reckoning India has built engineers. It has built services firms. It has produced researchers who work on AI at Google, Meta and OpenAI. What it has not built is the physical layer: the fabs, the chip architectures, the GPU clusters, the operating systems deployed at consumer scale. TIFRAC, India's first indigenous computer, was completed in 1960. It took six years to build and was never followed by a second. Sixty-six years later, the country's best commercial chip runs at 1GHz. The gap between where India is and where AI infrastructure actually begins is not a policy problem. It is an industrial problem — one that takes decades, not mission statements, to close. Claiming AI leadership while importing every chip that runs it is not a strategy. It is branding.

As India pitches itself as the world's next AI superpower, a harder truth sits beneath the headlines: the country has never shipped a fully indigenous computer, never put a homegrown chip in a consumer phone, and its best processor runs at 1GHz, a speed Intel crossed in the year 2000.&nbsp;

Forget building AI, India is yet to build its first fully indigenous computer or mobile phone

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France for the 2026 G7 Summit in Évian les Bains combined high-level diplomacy, strategic economic engagements and new technology initiatives, as India sought to strengthen ties with major global powers while championing the interests of the Global South.&nbsp;During the summit, Modi addressed key global challenges ranging from economic inequality and maritime security to artificial intelligence and international cooperation. He also held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, UK PM Kier Starmer, and others.&nbsp;<h2>Modi calls for trust-based partnerships and maritime security</h2>Addressing the G7 outreach session on rebuilding international solidarity, Modi said the world was facing a shortage of trust rather than resources and stressed that "mutual trust is the most important strategic asset today."&nbsp;He urged countries to move beyond traditional donor-recipient relationships and adopt partnerships based on equality and shared growth.&nbsp;"India believes that the true test of partnership is not what we build for others, but what we enable others to build for themselves."&nbsp;The Prime Minister also highlighted concerns over maritime security and freedom of navigation. Referring to recent incidents involving Indian seafarers in the Gulf of Oman, he called on nations to ensure safe sea lanes and protect those working on global shipping routes.<h2>Key bilateral meetings</h2>In talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, both leaders agreed to establish a High-Level Mechanism aimed at doubling bilateral trade within five years. They also pushed for the early implementation of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement.&nbsp;The two countries expanded cooperation in defence, space technology and innovation, with a greater focus on co-designing, co-developing and co-producing advanced platforms. They also agreed to deepen collaboration in human spaceflight and space situational awareness.&nbsp;During his meeting with US President Donald Trump, which comes after nearly 16 months and strained ties, Modi welcomed diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring stability in West Asia. The leaders reviewed progress under the India-US COMPACT initiative covering defence and technology cooperation.&nbsp;Also Read: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hormuz-to-reopen-and-us-blockade-to-be-lifted-immediately-as-us-iran-mou-takes-effect-1781744403816">Hormuz to reopen and US blockade to be lifted immediately as US-Iran MoU takes effect</a>&nbsp;Both sides also expressed satisfaction over progress on an interim Bilateral Trade Agreement, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expected to visit India to help conclude negotiations soon.&nbsp;Modi's meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney marked another significant development. The two leaders committed to concluding the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by the end of 2026 and welcomed progress in energy-related trade, including LPG, LNG and metallurgical coal.&nbsp;India and Canada also agreed to begin negotiations on a General Security of Information Agreement (GSOIA) to strengthen intelligence and defence cooperation.&nbsp;<h2>India launches major AI and innovation initiatives</h2>India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030: A key outcome of the visit was the launch of the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, which places artificial intelligence at the centre of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The initiative focuses on trusted AI, ethical use of emerging technologies, privacy-preserving data frameworks and online child safety. Both countries agreed to support the development of AI systems aligned with democratic values and human rights.&nbsp;India-France InnoXchange Bridge: India and France also operationalised the India-France InnoXchange Bridge, connecting leading Indian academic institutions and startups with French technology and aerospace organisations. The initiative was advanced alongside VivaTech 2026 in Paris, where India participated as the official AI Country Partner.&nbsp;Raisina Americas: Another major announcement was the launch of Raisina Americas, a new platform created jointly by India and Canada to strengthen diplomacy, innovation and security cooperation across the Americas.&nbsp;Canada's IORA Dialogue Partnership: India also extended support for Canada to become a Dialogue Partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, a move aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation and supply chain resilience.

At the G7 Summit, PM Modi held key bilateral meetings with world leaders, including his first face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump in 16 months, as well as discussions with leaders of France, Canada, the UK, Germany and the UAE.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France for the 2026 G7 Summit in Évian les Bains combined high-level diplomacy, strategic economic engagements and new technology initiatives, as India sought to strengthen ties with major global powers while championing the interests of the Global South. During the summit, Modi addressed key global challenges ranging from economic inequality and maritime security to artificial intelligence and international cooperation. He also held a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders, including French President Emmanuel Macron, US President Donald Trump, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, UK PM Kier Starmer, and others. Modi calls for trust-based partnerships and maritime security Addressing the G7 outreach session on rebuilding international solidarity, Modi said the world was facing a shortage of trust rather than resources and stressed that "mutual trust is the most important strategic asset today." He urged countries to move beyond traditional donor-recipient relationships and adopt partnerships based on equality and shared growth. "India believes that the true test of partnership is not what we build for others, but what we enable others to build for themselves." The Prime Minister also highlighted concerns over maritime security and freedom of navigation. Referring to recent incidents involving Indian seafarers in the Gulf of Oman, he called on nations to ensure safe sea lanes and protect those working on global shipping routes. Key bilateral meetings In talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, both leaders agreed to establish a High-Level Mechanism aimed at doubling bilateral trade within five years. They also pushed for the early implementation of the India-European Union Free Trade Agreement. The two countries expanded cooperation in defence, space technology and innovation, with a greater focus on co-designing, co-developing and co-producing advanced platforms. They also agreed to deepen collaboration in human spaceflight and space situational awareness. During his meeting with US President Donald Trump, which comes after nearly 16 months and strained ties, Modi welcomed diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring stability in West Asia. The leaders reviewed progress under the India-US COMPACT initiative covering defence and technology cooperation. Also Read: Hormuz to reopen and US blockade to be lifted immediately as US-Iran MoU takes effect Both sides also expressed satisfaction over progress on an interim Bilateral Trade Agreement, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer expected to visit India to help conclude negotiations soon. Modi's meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney marked another significant development. The two leaders committed to concluding the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement by the end of 2026 and welcomed progress in energy-related trade, including LPG, LNG and metallurgical coal. India and Canada also agreed to begin negotiations on a General Security of Information Agreement (GSOIA) to strengthen intelligence and defence cooperation. India launches major AI and innovation initiatives India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030: A key outcome of the visit was the launch of the India-France Innovation Roadmap 2030, which places artificial intelligence at the centre of the strategic partnership between the two countries. The initiative focuses on trusted AI, ethical use of emerging technologies, privacy-preserving data frameworks and online child safety. Both countries agreed to support the development of AI systems aligned with democratic values and human rights. India-France InnoXchange Bridge: India and France also operationalised the India-France InnoXchange Bridge, connecting leading Indian academic institutions and startups with French technology and aerospace organisations. The initiative was advanced alongside VivaTech 2026 in Paris, where India participated as the official AI Country Partner. Raisina Americas: Another major announcement was the launch of Raisina Americas, a new platform created jointly by India and Canada to strengthen diplomacy, innovation and security cooperation across the Americas. Canada's IORA Dialogue Partnership: India also extended support for Canada to become a Dialogue Partner of the Indian Ocean Rim Association, a move aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation and supply chain resilience.

At the G7 Summit, PM Modi held key bilateral meetings with world leaders, including his first face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump in 16 months, as well as discussions with leaders of France, Canada, the UK, Germany and the UAE.

India at G7: Trade agreements, AI collaboration and high level diplomacy among key takeaways for New Delhi

Time For India To Be Given A Larger Role At Global Summits Like G7

WION Edit: India needs to play a larger role at G7

PM Modi: All Indo-Pak Issues Are Bilateral Issues

Gravitas: PM Modi at the G7 summit: Key Takeaways

Bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump concludes. That was the first face-to-face interaction between the two leaders after India abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, a move that has seen Pakistan cry foul. It is also the first meeting after President Trump's comment that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

Bramha Chellaney on PM Modi-Trump bilateral meet at G7 Summit

Arun K Singh on Trump-Modi bilateral talks at G7 summit

Bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United States of America (USA) President Donald Trump is underway on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France. This is the first face-to-face interaction between the two leaders after India abrogated Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir, a move that has seen Pakistan cry foul. It is also the first meeting after President Trump's comment that he was ready to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue.

PM Modi meets Trump on the sideline of G-7 Summit

Siddhant Sibbal on Modi-Trump meet at G7 Summit

india-at-g7

India At G7, News on India At G7, stories on India At G7, articles on India At G7, India At G7 stories at Wion, India At G7 news, India At G7 latest news

india at-g7

Forget building AI, India is yet to build its first fully indigenous computer or mobile phone

India at G7: Trade agreements, AI initiatives, high diplomacy define summit

WION Edit: India needs to play a larger role at G7

Gravitas: PM Modi at the G7 summit: Key Takeaways

Bramha Chellaney on PM Modi-Trump bilateral meet at G7 Summit

Arun K Singh on Trump-Modi bilateral talks at G7 summit

PM Modi meets Trump on the sideline of G-7 Summit

PM Modi meets Trump on the sideline of G-7 Summit

PM Modi meets Trump on the sideline of G-7 Summit

Siddhant Sibbal on Modi-Trump meet at G7 Summit