Every technological revolution poses the same uncomfortable question: who will shape the future, and who will merely serve it. History has rarely favoured those content only to adopt tools built elsewhere, while surrendering the deeper layers of their societal existence, ownership and governance.India’s $250‑billion IT–ITES sector now stands at such an inflection. For decades, it built a formidable moat around cost efficiency, disciplined delivery and the world’s largest pool of technically trained, English‑speaking talent. This quietly propelled millions into the middle class, anchored Indian equity markets and established the country as a trusted node in global technology supply chains.