August 16, 2026

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BIG TECH REVENUES

IN BUSINESS, NOTHING can convey the levels of dominance as clearly as hard numbers. Think about it. Amazon has at least 30% of India's e-commerce business (Walmartowned Flipkart leads the pack), while Meta has over one billion users across Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. If you look at Google, its search engine share is over 97%, as per Statcounter Global Stats. As a corollary, these companies command a large share of the consumer wallet and attention span, drawing more money into the overall digital advertising funnel.A FICCI-EY report on the media and entertainment sector estimates that digital advertising revenue, excluding subscriptions, will be close to `1.4 lakh crore in 2028.These big numbers, in fact, are at the heart of a larger debate on digital services tax in India and in many parts of the world.BATTLE ROYALE In late June this year, US President Donald Trump, through a social media post, threatened a 100% tax on imports from any country imposing a digital services tax on American technology companies. It marked another round of escalation in a complex and challenging global trade war. Trump went on to say that "this tariff will supersede trade deals made with the country, whether implemented, signed, or not." The issue of digital services tax has been controversial for some time. Put simply, most Big Tech companies are based in the US and operate in a way that often leaves their main income streams,

DEEP TECH'S DEFINING MOMENT

THE UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE (UPI) did not create Razorpay, PhonePe or an entire generation of fintech start-ups overnight. Instead, it created something more valuable. It laid the digital infrastructure that reduced friction, widened access and gave hundreds of companies the foundation to build, innovate and scale up.India's latest semiconductor and electronics push is attempting a similar leap. The `1.27 lakh crore Semicon India 2.0 programme and the `62,500 crore Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS) are not just subsidies for factories. Together, they are an attempt to build the industrial foundation on which India's next generation of deep-tech companies can build.For years, Indian start-ups excelled in Software-as-a-Service as the ecosystem--talent, internet connectivity, cloud infrastructure and a growing digital market--existed. But deep tech is different. A start-up in deep technology needs design tools, manufacturing access, testing facilities, components, customers, patient capital and years of runway. Most of these pieces are expensive or outside India.That is what makes the latest initiatives different. The aim is to connect the missing pieces of India's deep-tech ecosystem. While Semicon India 1.0--that had an out- lay of `76,000 crore --focused on establishing manufacturing capacity and laying the foundation, Semicon India 2.0 broadens the focus to building the ecosystem around it. Chip design, fabs, packaging, components, advanced materials, manufacturing equipment, robotics, industrial automation, R&D and domestic demand are all being brought together to create a selfreinforcing industrial flywheel. The idea is that each would strengthen the other, creating the conditions for start-ups to build, scale and compete globally.Ashok Chandak, President of the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA) and SEMI India, sees Semicon India 1.0 and