According to Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Railways, India has emerged as a pioneer in democratising technology through digital public infrastructure (DPI) initiatives like Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Aadhaar, DigiLocker, etc. This successful model has garnered significant international attention and adoption interest.

As per Vaishnaw, India’s strategic advantages including a robust IT ecosystem, vast talent pool, and culture of innovation, have positioned India uniquely in the global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape. The country also played a pivotal role in shaping the summit’s leaders’ statement, which emphasised five key themes including Greater access to AI infrastructure to ensure inclusion; The responsible use of AI; AI for public interest; Making AI more diverse and sustainable; and Ensuring safe and trusted governance of AI.

Meanwhile, India’s concrete actions toward AI leadership include:

  • Building infrastructure- Enabling access to more than 18,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) at a subsidised cost to Indian start-ups and academia.
  • Advancing innovation- Launch of indigenous foundation model development with call for proposals already published.
  • Solving real-world challenges- Funding 18 AI applications across agriculture, learning disabilities, and climate change sectors.
  • Ensuring safety- Establishing an AI Safety Institute and funding eight projects under ‘Responsible AI’ initiatives.
  • Developing talent- Comprehensive AI skill programs launched for India’s workforce. Fellowship awarded to 130 B.Tech and 40 M.Tech students. 27 AI and Data labs to be set up nationwide.

The minister also mentioned that prime minister’s vision centred on ‘AI for Good’ and emphasised the critical need for collaborative global governance frameworks while ensuring universal AI access.

He further stated that in recognition of India’s growing leadership in AI governance, the nation will host the next AI Summit, further cementing India’s role in shaping the future of AI globally.