Supply chain shocks push Indian startups to rethink global dependencies

Supply chain strategies built on cost efficiency and just-in-time delivery are being upended as geopolitical tensions redraw the rules of global trade, founders said at CII’s Unicorn Summit, pointing to a fundamental rethink underway across industries.

Tarun Mehta , CEO of Ather Energy, said the delinking of global supply chains is forcing entrepreneurs to confront geopolitical realities in ways they have not had to for decades. “Globalisation seems to have ended and that’s completely messing up the old world mindset,” he said, adding that decisions around technology architecture are now inseparable from where those technologies originate and who controls them.

Mehta pointed to last year’s disruption in rare earth magnet supplies as a stark example of how fragile tightly optimised supply chains can be. “If you were just-in-time last year, China puts a ban on rare earth magnets and you’re screwed. You have two days of supplies and then nothing for the next six months,” he said.

Ather, he noted, was insulated because it held significantly higher inventory than what would have been considered efficient earlier. “We had six months worth of supplies in the pipeline, which is criminal in the old world, but it’s turning out to be a benefit,” Mehta said.

At any cost, the implication is clear that resilience is replacing efficiency as the primary metric for supply chain design.

This recalibration is also reshaping cost structures and business models. Companies are now weighing not just supplier pricing but also geopolitical alignment, long-term access, and risk exposure. “We’ve got to think through who we are going to be friendly with in the short-term and the long-term,” Mehta said.

Defence supply chains face deeper scrutiny

The disruption is even more pronounced in defence and deep-tech sectors, where supply chain vulnerabilities carry national security implications. Ankit Mehta, co-founder of ideaForge Technology, said the industry has faced multiple “root shocks,” beginning with the pandemic and intensifying with geopolitical flashpoints.

He cited a turning point triggered by Israel’s pager attacks on Hezbollah, which exposed how deeply embedded vulnerabilities in critical systems can be. “You suddenly realise that your critical systems could have vulnerabilities,” he said, adding that defence was among the first sectors to feel the impact.

For ideaForge, this validated a long-held internal stance to avoid dependence on certain foreign technologies. “For 10 years, we were saying we should not be buying technology of a certain origin,” Mehta said. “Overnight, what we were preparing for internally became a reality for the industry.”

In fact, the risks extend beyond advanced components. Mehta highlighted disruptions in “dumb components” and even software access, with companies facing the possibility of being cut off from hardware, raw materials, or software suites due to geopolitical decisions. “You will be denied not just technology or hardware, but in some cases access to your own software,” he said.

This has triggered a deeper shift toward building indigenous capabilities from the ground up. “If we are not in control of technology, software, and compute hardware, we are going to subject ourselves to vulnerabilities,” he warned.

The broader takeaway that comes to light is that as geopolitical tensions persist, companies are being forced to redesign systems for durability, even if it comes at a higher cost.