India’s digital infrastructure faces significant challenges due to its reliance on a limited number of intercontinental submarine cables near Mumbai, posing a potential risk to its internet connectivity. Approximately 13 of the 18 international cables make landfall within a six-kilometre stretch in the Versova neighbourhood of Mumbai, handling up to 95% of India’s bandwidth needs to Europe, Africa, and West Asia.
Critical Concentration and Consequences
Experts warn that this geographic concentration makes India vulnerable to disruptions. If multiple cables were damaged simultaneously, India’s connectivity could suffer significantly, though traffic could be rerouted through other cities like Chennai and Kochi. Any interruptions could degrade performance, affecting banks, stock exchanges, and AI infrastructures that depend on rapid data transfers.
Insufficient Infrastructure and Repair Challenges
India processes an impressive 20% of global data but only connects through about 3% of the world’s submarine cables, relying on 21 cable landing stations compared to over 1,900 worldwide. “We need to grow the number of cable landing stations several fold,” suggests Aruna Sundararajan, chairperson of the Broadband India Forum (BIF). Moreover, 11 of the country’s cables are over 20 years old, approaching their functional limits, according to the Takshashila Institution. Amajit Gupta, CEO of Lightstorm, highlights that improving repair capabilities is more critical than just rerouting options since India lacks its own subsea cable-repair ships.
Bureaucracy and Demand Mismatch
Exacerbating the issue are bureaucratic delays, with cable landing station approvals requiring roughly 50 different clearances. Sundararajan advocates for streamlined approvals and a centralised agency for better management. Emerging data-centre demands highlight the need for stronger infrastructure; India’s installed data-centre capacity has dramatically increased from 375MW in 2020 to 1,575MW today.
Emerging Solutions
India has started recognising submarine cables as critical infrastructure, aiming for faster clearances and designated protected zones. Technologies such as Distributed Acoustic Sensing may further safeguard cables, detecting and mitigating potential threats. Sundararajan envisions India becoming a cable hub, akin to Singapore, contingent on regulatory adaptations and infrastructure expansion.
Several new submarine cable projects, such as Lightstorm’s I-2SEA, are underway to diversify routes and increase resilience. These projects could help mitigate the risks posed by India’s current over-dependence on its geographically concentrated cables.
Reporting based on coverage first published by bbc.co.uk.