In the 2000s, the Indian economy grew at spectacular rates. Those were heady years, as the growth rate accelerated on the back of a steady flow of foreign direct investment (FDI). From Mumbai to Bengaluru (it was still Bangalore then), there was genuine excitement. India was truly shining. Towards the fag end of the decade, annual FDI touched nearly $40 billion. 

At the time, $40 billion was truly something. Most of that investment went into traditional sectors such as telecom, metals, automobiles, energy and old-world manufacturing. In those years, India had no digital rails, a nascent startup ecosystem and no public cloud strategy.

A similar excitement is in the air today. After the doom and gloom of the Covid-19 years, India's economic engine has slipped back into fifth gear. Investor confidence in the India story has been fully restored. Compared to the world of the 2000s, the picture today is dramatically different. India is now part of the global high-tech chain: semiconductors, AI, cloud, data centres, electronics. The shift is seismic.

In this backdrop, Big Tech has entered India with confidence and deep pockets. Since October, they have been lining up at India's doorstep with cheque books open. Amazon has promised $35 billion. Microsoft has committed $17.5 billion. Google is building a $15 billion AI data hub. Intel has tied up with Tata to anchor India's semiconductor ambitions. After adding a few other players, India has attracted more than $80 billion in fresh tech pledges within weeks. And this is on top of India's already strong post-pandemic annual FDI inflow of more than $80 billion. Not long ago, we struggled to attract foreign capital. The sudden surge today feels almost........

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