India Launches Its First Independent Photonics Industry Body

From BharatNet to ISRO's satellite links, photonics already powers India's digital backbone — now it has its first dedicated industry association

PGurus Newsdesk

September 9, 2026

India's photonics market, valued at $78.4 billion in 2025, is projected to reach $155 billion by 2034, with silicon photonics growing at nearly 29% CAGR

The newly launched India Photonics Association wants to build the technology bridging today’s chips with tomorrow’s data infrastructure — in a market already worth $78 billion

India inaugurated its first independent, ecosystem-led photonics industry body on Wednesday, the India Photonics Association (IPA), aimed at boosting innovation and strengthening collaboration in the sector. The IPA is positioned as a neutral platform to feed technically rigorous, industry-grounded input into policymaking and bolster India’s standing in the global photonics ecosystem.

The launch event was held in the presence of Sarin Sundar, CTO of the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), alongside industry leaders, technology experts and researchers.

Building The Full Supply Chain

Rohin Y, board member of the IPA and Founder-CEO of LightSpeed Photonics, framed the association’s ambition around end-to-end supply chain partnerships — building photonics products in India, for India, and for the world, with success measured by the tangible business opportunities it creates for members.

Ashwini Aggarwal, Director General of the IPA, went further, arguing that photonics already underpins nearly everything digital — from data crossing Indian networks to satellite imagery to lasers in operating theatres. As Aggarwal put it, “Silicon gave the world the chip. Photonics will give the world what comes next.”

An $78 Billion Market Heading To $155 Billion

India’s photonics market was estimated at $78.4 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $155 billion by 2034, with silicon photonics — central to next-generation data infrastructure — growing at nearly 29% CAGR. The technology already threads through India’s critical infrastructure: BharatNet, the world’s largest optical fibre programme; ISRO‘s optical inter-satellite links; and the optical transceivers increasingly powering data centres nationwide.

The IPA describes itself as a knowledge-driven body representing India’s photonics community, built to coordinate progress across the sector as the country tries to plant itself at the frontier of the technology rather than watch it develop elsewhere.

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