Can India turn its scattered photonics capabilities into a stronger industry? A new association aims to connect the ecosystem and strengthen the domestic value chain.
The India Photonics Association (IPA) was officially inaugurated in New Delhi on 9th September 2026, bringing a dedicated industry platform to a technology already embedded across India’s digital and industrial infrastructure. The association positions itself as India’s first independent, ecosystem-led body dedicated to photonics.
The launch took place in the presence of Sarin Sundar, CTO, India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), with Dr Ashwini Aggarwal, Director General, IPA, and Dr Rohin Y, Board Member, IPA and Founder-CEO, LightSpeed Photonics, among those outlining the association’s role.
IPA aims to bridge the gaps between startups, researchers, academic institutions, technology companies, and policymakers, while creating stronger links across India’s photonics value chain and with the global ecosystem.
A $3.29 billion market with a bigger opportunity
The India Photonics Industry Report 2026 estimates India’s direct photonics market at $3.29 billion in 2026, with a projected value of $6.8–7.9 billion by FY2031–32.
Optical communications and data-centre optics account for the largest share at $909 million, followed by fibre, OFC, and passives at $570 million. Medical and biophotonics contribute $454 million, machine vision and metrology $422 million, automotive optics $375 million, industrial lasers $325 million, and defence and space electro-optics $238 million.
The numbers point to an important gap. India is already a significant user of photonics, but much of the higher-value chain, from components and devices to packaging and manufacturing- remains outside the country.
From lenses to quantum, an ecosystem of light
The breadth of that ecosystem was visible at the Delhi launch. Lensel, Microchip, Zetwerk, Hewlett Packard, New Age, and SFO were among the companies represented, alongside MeitY members and the academic community.
Keysight, Tejas, and Signalchip, along with startups such as Qualivon, added to the industry mix. Emerging technology and academia were also represented through the Academic Quantum Initiative at IIT Delhi, while institutions such as Vishnu Universal Learning were also present.
The mix of organisations reflected the breadth of photonics in India, spanning optical communications and AI data centres, sensing, industrial systems, healthcare, defence, space, and quantum technologies.
The bigger opportunity is harder
Bringing these stakeholders into the same room is only the beginning. Turning research and capabilities into products requires progress through prototyping, validation, qualification, manufacturing, and global market access, supported by supply chains, specialised talent, standards, capital, and customers.
For Rohin, that also means building stronger links across the supply chain. The association aims to bring together “end-to-end supply chain partnerships to build world-class photonics products in India, for India and for the world.”
The challenge is also beginning to be addressed at the infrastructure level. Sundar pointed to Taiwan’s Hsinchu as a model for India’s emerging technology clusters and pointed towards a photonics cluster that is taking shape. “We would like to have similar clusters at different places,” he said.
That makes IPA’s challenge bigger than building a community. It must help bring capabilities that have largely developed in parallel together and translate them into commercial and manufacturing opportunities.
A longer conversation with Ashwini and Rohin examines where India’s photonics capabilities actually stand, what is keeping the ecosystem fragmented, and how AI, data centres, and quantum technologies could shape the opportunity ahead.
