What Is MCP and Why Every AI Builder in India Should Care in 2026
MCP — Model Context Protocol — is an open standard that lets large language models like Claude, GPT-5, and Gemini safely connect to tools, databases, and services. Think of it as "USB-C for AI": one standard connector that works across every AI assistant and every external system. For developers building AI products in India, MCP solves the single biggest problem of 2025 — the mess of custom integrations required to make AI actually do useful work.
The Problem MCP Solves
Before MCP, if you wanted your AI assistant to fetch data from your CRM, your database, or your file system, you had to write a custom function-calling wrapper for each LLM. The same integration had to be rewritten for OpenAI, for Anthropic, and for Google. Every time one of them updated their API, your code broke.
MCP standardizes this. You build one MCP server, and any MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, custom apps) can use it. Write once, run everywhere.
The Three Pieces of MCP
1. MCP Server
A program that exposes tools, resources, or prompts to an AI model. Example servers include filesystem access, database queries, GitHub API, Slack messaging, and in-house business logic. You build these.
2. MCP Client
An AI application that consumes MCP servers — Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, or your custom Next.js app. Clients ask servers what tools they offer and call them on the model's behalf.
3. Transport Layer
How client and server talk. MCP supports stdio (for local servers) and HTTP with Server-Sent Events (for remote servers). Most production MCP servers use HTTP.
A Concrete Example: A CRM MCP Server for Indian SMBs
Imagine an Indian SMB owner using Claude to ask: "Which customers haven't ordered in 60 days and have a lifetime value above ₹50,000?" An MCP server connected to the CRM can answer instantly, without the owner writing SQL.
The server exposes a tool like get_customers_by_segment that accepts filters. Claude picks the right filters from the natural language query, calls the tool, and presents the result. The CRM stays secure — the AI never sees raw credentials or unrelated data.
Building Your First MCP Server in 2026
The official MCP TypeScript SDK makes this approachable. A minimal server looks like this:
import { McpServer } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/mcp.js";
import { StdioServerTransport } from "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/stdio.js";
import { z } from "zod";
const server = new McpServer({
name: "my-first-server",
version: "1.0.0",
});
server.tool(
"get_weather",
"Fetch the current weather for a city",
{ city: z.string() },
async ({ city }) => {
const data = await fetch(`https://api.weather.example/${city}`).then(r => r.json());
return { content: [{ type: "text", text: `Weather in ${city}: ${data.temp}°C` }] };
}
);
const transport = new StdioServerTransport();
await server.connect(transport);That is a complete working MCP server. Run it, point Claude Desktop at it, and Claude can now ask about the weather.
Five Real Use Cases for MCP in Indian Businesses
- CRM Query Assistant: Let sales team ask natural-language questions over Zoho or HubSpot data
- Inventory Lookup: Connect a Shopify or WooCommerce store so AI can answer stock and shipping questions
- Financial Reporting: Let AI pull live numbers from Tally or Zoho Books for instant P&L analysis
- Internal Documentation Search: Expose your Notion or Confluence wiki so AI answers staff questions correctly
- Support Ticket Automation: Connect Freshdesk so AI can triage, categorize, and reply to tickets
Security Best Practices
- Never expose write operations without explicit user confirmation
- Scope each MCP server to the minimum data it needs
- Use OAuth or API keys on the server side, never hand them to the model
- Log every tool call for audit trails
- Rate limit tools that could be abused
MCP vs Traditional Function Calling
- Function Calling: Works only with a single model provider, gets rewritten when APIs change
- MCP: Works with every MCP-compatible client, survives model upgrades, open standard
For any new AI feature built in 2026, MCP is the right default.
Where to Go Next
- Read the official MCP spec at modelcontextprotocol.io
- Install Claude Desktop and try the pre-built filesystem and GitHub MCP servers
- Build your first MCP server in TypeScript or Python
- Ship it to your team as an internal productivity tool
Why This Matters
MCP is to AI tools what REST was to web APIs in 2010 — an open standard that will define how every serious AI product works for the next decade. Indian developers who learn MCP in 2026 will have a durable edge in the AI job market and the ability to ship AI products that actually integrate with the real world.
Tech Assistant builds custom MCP servers and AI integrations for Indian businesses. If you want AI that plugs into your CRM, database, or internal tools, see our AI service or book a consultation.