India’s emergence as a global digital powerhouse is currently shadowed by a significant vulnerability in its physical internet infrastructure. A large portion of the country's international bandwidth—approximately 95%—relies on 18 submarine cables, with 13 of these landing within a six-kilometre radius in Mumbai. Experts warn that this extreme geographic concentration creates a single point of failure that could severely disrupt connectivity to Europe, Africa, and West Asia if multiple cables were damaged simultaneously.
While the country accounts for roughly 20% of global data consumption, it possesses only about 3% of the world's submarine cables and 1% of its cable landing stations. This disparity is compounded by the aging nature of the existing network; research from the Takshashila Institution indicates that 11 of India's 18 international cables are over 20 years old, nearing their typical 25-year operational lifespan.
Beyond the risk of cable failure, India faces a critical shortage of domestic repair capacity. Currently, the nation relies on foreign repair vessels from hubs like Singapore or Dubai. The process of securing these ships and obtaining the necessary regulatory permits to operate in Indian waters can add weeks to repair timelines. Aruna Sundararajan, chairperson of the Broadband India Forum, notes that the regulatory environment is fragmented, requiring as many as 50 clearances across 16 different government agencies to establish a single landing station.
As India expands its data centre capacity—which has grown from 375MW in 2020 to approximately 1,575MW today—the demand for high-speed, reliable data transfer is intensifying, particularly for AI-driven infrastructure. Industry leaders argue that the country must move beyond its reliance on Mumbai by diversifying landing sites and streamlining bureaucratic processes. Some progress is underway, with new cable systems being commissioned that include diverse landing points in locations like Machilipatnam and South Chennai.
To secure its digital future, experts suggest that India must prioritize the development of an indigenous repair fleet, establish protected cable zones, and implement a single-window clearance system to foster a more resilient and decentralized network.
Source: BBC News
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