India's ability to prepare for tech-driven wars to decide country’s future: Adani at IIT Kharagpur

Kolkata, Aug 18 (PTI) Stressing the role of IIT Kharagpur's in technology, self-reliance and nation building, Adani Group Chairman Gautam Adani on Monday said as the world is moving from conventional wars to technology-driven ones, India's ability to prepare will decide the country’s future.

Speaking at the 75th Foundation Day of IIT Kharagpur, he said that in the 21st century, a nation can be independent and still be “bound by dependence”.

"The wars that we have to fight today are often invisible. They are fought in server farms, and not in trenches. The weapons are algorithms, not guns. The empires are not built on land — they are built in data centres. The armies are botnets, and not battalions," he said.

Adani, who was a special guest at the event, said that 90 per cent of India’s semiconductors are imported and one disruption or sanction can freeze the country’s digital economy.

"As the world is moving from conventional wars to technology-driven wars of power, India's ability to prepare will decide our future," he said.

"In the case of energy vulnerability, we import 85 per cent of our oil. A single geopolitical incident can restrict our growth,” the industrialist said.

When India’s data crosses the country’s borders, every bit of it becomes raw material for foreign algorithms, creates foreign wealth and strengthens foreign dominance, he said.

“And in the case of military dependence, many of our critical systems are imported, binding our national security to the political will and supply chains of other nations," he said. PTI SUS NN