The author of the article is Kunal Hundia, Managing Director, EVM
For many years, India’s technology story has been told through software.
We spoke about apps, platforms, digital payments, cloud, e-commerce and services. And rightly so. India has built some of the world’s most impressive digital public infrastructure and consumer technology platforms.
But after spending many years in the IT Hardware industry, I have come to believe one thing very strongly: the next chapter of India’s technology growth will not be written by software alone.
It will also be written by hardware.
Every app needs a device. Every AI tool needs compute. Every connected product needs sensors, memory, storage, power and connectivity. Every digital payment depends on a mobile phone that works. Every student attending an online class needs a screen, a charger and storage. Every business using digital tools needs reliable systems behind it.
Hardware is often invisible when it works. But the moment it fails, everything stops.
That is why India’s electronics sector deserves much more serious attention.
AI Has Made Hardware Important Again
There is a common belief that AI is mainly a software revolution. In reality, AI is putting enormous pressure on hardware.
AI needs processors. It needs RAM. It needs SSDs. It needs memory bandwidth, power efficiency, thermal management, servers, laptops, mobile devices and data centres. Even when the customer is using a simple AI tool on a phone or laptop, there is a large hardware chain working behind that experience.
This is where the industry must look deeper.
As AI moves from large companies to students, creators, offices, retailers and small businesses, the demand will not be limited to high-end servers. It will also change everyday devices.
Laptops will need better processors and more RAM. Storage will need to become faster and more reliable. Mobile devices will need better power management. Accessories will need to support longer usage. Small businesses using AI tools will need systems that do not slow down in daily work.
AI will not reduce the importance of electronics. It will increase it. The world may experience AI through software, but AI runs on hardware.
IoT Is Not Only About Connectivity
IoT is another area where people often focus on the front-end idea and forget the hardware reality.
A connected device may sound simple on paper. But in the real world, it must work in heat, dust, travel, factories, shops, warehouses, homes, vehicles and sometimes in places where maintenance is difficult.
That means every small component matters.
- Power stability matters.
- Storage reliability matters.
- Connectivity matters.
- Board quality matters.
- Testing matters.
- Service matters.
If a connected device fails, the loss is not only the cost of the product. It can mean wrong data, business interruption, delayed service or loss of trust.
India has a strong opportunity in IoT because our problems are real and large. Retail monitoring, logistics, agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, security, energy management and smart homes can all benefit from connected electronics.
But for IoT to scale in India, the hardware must be affordable, dependable and built for Indian conditions. A product designed only for a perfect environment will not survive the Indian market for long.
Semiconductors Are Important, But They Are Not the Whole Story
India’s semiconductor push is very important. It is good for the country, good for industry and necessary for long-term technology independence.
But we must also remember that a chip by itself is not the final product.
- A chip needs a board.
- A board needs components.
- A product needs memory, storage, connectors, power, casing, firmware, testing and certification.
Then it needs distribution, service and customer trust
If India wants to become serious in electronics, we must strengthen the full chain, not only one part of it.
Semiconductor capability is one pillar. Product capability is another. Manufacturing discipline, quality control, sourcing, testing and after-sales support are equally important.
The real opportunity is not just to say that India can make chips. The bigger opportunity is to build reliable products around those chips.
That is where electronics brands, component suppliers, manufacturers, distributors and service networks all become important. The Indian Market Teaches You Quickly. India is not an easy market for electronics.
Customers are price-conscious, but they are not careless. They want value, but they also want warranty. They compare. They ask questions. They speak to retailers. They check reviews. And if a product fails, they remember.
The usage conditions are also demanding.
- Devices are used for long hours.
- Power supply may not always be stable.
- Products are shared in families and offices.
- Accessories are used roughly.
- Heat, dust and travel affect performance.
- A single device may be used for education, business, entertainment and payments.
This is why products cannot be designed only for specifications on paper. An SSD is not just capacity and speed. It may hold a student’s project, a creator’s video files, an office backup or business records.
RAM is not just 8GB or 16GB. It decides whether a laptop remains useful for another few years. A processor is not just a model number. It decides whether a user can work smoothly, learn properly or run modern applications.
When we look at products this way, electronics becomes more than a category. It becomes part of people’s productivity.
Affordable Does Not Mean Disposable
One mistake the industry must avoid is treating affordable electronics as disposable electronics.
India needs affordability, but it does not need compromise.
A customer buying an affordable product may be making a very important purchase for his household or business. For him, the product must work. It must last. And if something goes wrong, the brand must stand behind it.
That is where trust is built.
In our industry, it is easy to focus on volume. But long-term brands are not built only on volume. They are built on repeat purchase, service experience and customer confidence.
A low price can open the door. Reliability keeps the door open.
This is especially true as more Indians use technology for income, education and business. When technology becomes connected to livelihood, failure becomes more serious.
What Indian Brands Must Do Now
Indian technology brands have an important role in this phase. We must not simply import products and sell them as catalogue items. We must understand Indian use cases deeply.
- What does a student actually need from a laptop upgrade?
- What does a small business need from storage?
- What does a creator need from an SSD?
- What does a gamer need from a keyboard?
- What does a retailer need from power backup and connectivity?
- What does a family need from mobile accessories that are used by everyone?
These answers do not come only from market reports. They come from retailers, service centres, distributors, online reviews, customer complaints and years of watching how people actually use products.
Useful means the product must solve a real problem. Reliable means it must perform consistently.
Accessible means it must be priced and distributed in a way that more people can adopt it.
The Future Will Belong to Dependable Technology
The next wave of growth will come from the meeting point of AI, IoT, semiconductors and everyday digital adoption.
But the winners will not be the companies that only use the latest words. They will be the companies that make technology work reliably for real users. Technology becomes meaningful only when it works in the hands of the user.
India has a major opportunity ahead. We have demand, talent, ambition and a large domestic market. But to make the most of this moment, we must build electronics with patience, quality and responsibility.
The future of India’s technology sector will not be decided only by what we can code. It will also be decided by what we can build, test, deliver and support. Hardware is the foundation of the digital economy. And if India builds that foundation well, the next decade can belong to Indian IT Products.
