Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2026, India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is now claiming that the country will soon have its own smartphone brand (or brands, plural), and promises the Indian government has done all the “homework” required for such an endeavor. This brand (or these brands, it’s unclear if we’re talking about one or more) will be launched within the next 12 to 18 months and will be “global”.
It’s hard to grasp what he means exactly, though. Will these be state-run brands? If not, who is behind them? Anyway, if this is to actually happen (and that’s not a small “if”), then we’re sure everything will be revealed closer to the launch, in the next few months.
Indian IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw
Here’s what Minister Vaishnaw had to say:
Now we have a very substantial electronics ecosystem in our country, this is the time when we will be going for getting our own Indian brands in mobile phones. We have done all the homework that is required to be done. Today and yesterday, we had significant meetings with the entire ecosystem, which produces the thousands of things that are required to go into a mobile phone. And it’s very happy, very satisfying progress. Very soon, maybe another one year from now, or maybe maximum 18 months from now, we should have our own Indian brands coming out.
He also met with Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis, as well as OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane, because of course he did – AI is all the rage these days. For what it’s worth, Hassabis has expressed optimism regarding a possible future collaboration with India.
