Alpesh Patel’s Political Sketchbook: India as West – East tech broker.
India playing “tech broker” between East and West is geopolitically significant for one simple reason: in an AI world, whoever sits in the middle writes the menu, even if they don’t own the kitchen.
Start with leverage. The US and its allies increasingly treat advanced chips, cloud capacity, and model weights as strategic assets, not neutral merchandise. India, meanwhile, is trying to become a serious AI infrastructure hub via large-scale data centre build-outs and GPU capacity – effectively positioning itself as the trusted place where workloads can run, data can be processed, and products can be built without either Washington’s export-control paranoia or Beijing’s state-control baggage. Reuters and AP both report India’s ambition to pull in vast data-centre investment and expand compute access, which is the hard currency of modern AI.
That makes India a potential “neutral platform” for firms that want scale without choosing a side. If you are a US hyperscaler or a Western enterprise, India offers market size and (relatively) rule-of-law predictability. If you are a Global South government, India can pitch a development-first stack and cheaper deployment pathway than the EU or US model, without the strategic dependency that can come with China. India’s own government is explicitly exporting its Digital Public Infrastructure partnerships – it’s not just doing tech, it’s exporting governance patterns.
Second implication: standards power. Hosting major AI diplomacy and pushing ideas like an “AI commons” is a bid to shape global rules around access, safety, and interoperability – especially for countries that feel locked out by US and Chinese giants. If India can set the convening agenda, it can become the place where “minimum viable consensus” gets forged: not EU-style regulation, not US laissez-faire, not China’s state-first approach, but something pragmatic that many middle and emerging powers can live with. The Financial Times notes India’s push to broker consensus on an “AI commons” aimed at widening access, particularly for the Global South. (Financial Times)
Third: supply-chain geopolitics without the chip fabs. India is not yet a chip manufacturing superpower, but it can still become indispensable by owning the layers around compute: data-centres, cloud, model deployment, AI services, identity and payments rails. That is why US-India frameworks like iCET and related tech partnerships matter: they are as much about trusted ecosystems and export-control alignment as they are about innovation. Carnegie and CSIS both frame the relationship as moving from talk to concrete initiatives across semiconductors, AI, and critical tech.
Fourth: China management, and the risks of being “in the middle”. India’s balancing act is not cost-free. Since 2020, India has restricted Chinese tech access in meaningful ways, while still facing the reality that Chinese hardware and components permeate global electronics. That creates a constant push-pull: selective de-risking versus pragmatic engagement. If India becomes the bridge, both sides will test it – Washington will want stronger alignment on controls and security; Beijing will look for market access and influence. Analysts note cautious re-engagement in some tech areas even amid rivalry.
Finally: the broker’s dilemma – credibility. To broker between blocs, India must persuade others that it is a “trusted” venue. That means clearer positions on data governance, surveillance safeguards, and predictable regulation. Exporting DPI and expanding AI infrastructure increases influence, but it also exports India’s choices about identity, access, and state capacity – which will attract scrutiny as much as admiration.
Net-net: India as tech broker could become the Switzerland of AI deployment – but with a billion-plus domestic users and a very non-Swiss appetite for strategic autonomy. The prize is agenda-setting power. The risk is getting squeezed by both sides until “broker” becomes a polite word for “buffer state with servers.”
Alpesh B Patel OBE
Political Animal 