India is making remarkable strides in artificial intelligence (AI), harnessing its potential for public good and national development. At the AI Action Summit held in Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized India's commitment to technological advancement and innovation, asserting that the nation is developing AI applications aimed at benefiting the larger public. He highlighted India's diverse landscape and noted that the country is building its large language models, ready to share its experience and expertise to ensure that the future of AI is inclusive and beneficial for all.
India co-chaired the summit alongside France and the two nations had been conceptualizing the summit for an extended period. India played a significant role as a member of the steering committee and participated in five working groups, which focused on governance, trust in AI, public interest, the future of work, and culture and innovation. These working groups diligently worked over the past few months to produce meaningful deliverables for the summit, including a declaration outlining how AI will be implemented and governed.
Among the key announcements made at the summit was the establishment of a foundation dedicated to public interest in AI, backed by an investment of nearly 400 million EUR. This initiative aims to advance AI projects in India. India has become a founding member of this foundation and will collaborate with various stakeholders to democratize access to computing resources, datasets, and algorithms. This outcome is crucial for ensuring that AI technologies are accessible to all.
Another significant outcome was the formation of the coalition for Sustainable AI. This coalition aims to ensure that AI development occurs sustainably, utilizing green energy for data centres that power AI solutions. India signed on to this coalition, committing to develop applications and use cases that address societal challenges at scale. Additionally, it was decided that India will host the next AI Summit, bringing together stakeholders from around the world. This event will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the advancements India has made in the field of artificial intelligence.
The BharatGen Consortium, comprising researchers from five Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)—Bombay, Madras, Mandi, Hyderabad, IIIT Hyderabad and IIM Indore—is actively working on developing foundational AI models tailored for India. They have successfully translated theoretical concepts into practical applications from an academic perspective. IIT Madras Pravartak has launched the Centre for Human-Centric AI, which is focused on bringing these technologies to end users.
Last year, the Indian government launched the IndiaAI Mission with an investment of over 10,372 crores to enhance AI development. A major challenge has been the availability and cost of computing resources. To address this, cloud providers are offering around 18,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) at significantly reduced rates, with the government subsidizing 40% of the costs. This initiative allows researchers, entrepreneurs and startups to access GPU resources for under a dollar per hour.
Private sector initiatives, such as Krutrim, Sarvam AI, CoRover's BharatGPT, and Hanooman, are also contributing to the development of foundational AI models. With government support, there is optimism that several models trained on Indian datasets will emerge. Application development remains a critical focus, as many believe India is poised to become a leader in AI applications.
The fifth pillar of the IndiaAI Mission emphasizes skill development. Recognizing India's strength in skills, the government is providing fellowships at various levels, including for undergraduates, master's students, and researchers working on AI projects. Data labs are being established nationwide to train youth as data scientists and annotators, preparing them for the jobs that will arise in this evolving economy.
The sixth pillar focuses on supporting startups at all stages of development—pre-seed, seed, and mature. The final pillar addresses the need for safe and trustworthy AI solutions. Collaborative projects with academic institutions are currently underway to ensure that the solutions developed are responsible and ethical.
In addition to these initiatives, the Department of Higher Education has established three Centres for Excellence in agriculture, healthcare, and education. These centres, located at IIT Ropar, AIIMS Delhi, and IIT Kanpur, will foster research and innovation in their respective fields. This year's budget also announced the establishment of another Centre for Excellence in Education.
This government initiative to develop foundational models in India is poised to significantly boost not only engineering professionals but also those seeking alternative roles, such as data annotators and prompt engineers, where domain knowledge is essential. This effort will ensure that the cultural context of India is integrated into the AI systems being developed.
Technologically, one critical resource that India needs is computing power. Currently, a significant portion of AI computing resources is concentrated within a single company, NVIDIA, which produces essential chips for AI development. The Indian government has fostered a good relationship with NVIDIA, leading to partnerships that aim to enhance India's computing capabilities.
India has also replicated its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) Playbook, successfully implementing biometric identity platforms similar to Aadhaar in numerous countries. The global community is increasingly looking to India for solutions in digital payments, healthcare, and education, with countries like Brazil adopting technologies akin to India’s UPI system.
As we prepare to host the next AI Summit, the focus will remain on understanding the needs of partner countries and how India can assist in adapting solutions for their specific contexts. There are, however, areas where foundational models still fall short. While they can perform certain tasks exceptionally well, they cannot replace human capabilities entirely.
As the world moves toward Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), it is imperative to establish guidelines on what AI should and should not do. India has already published draft guidelines for AI governance, which are currently under public consultation. It is crucial to ensure that AI serves the greater good and that measures are in place to mitigate risks associated with deepfakes and misinformation.
In conclusion, as India prepares to host the next AI Summit, there is hope for greater collaboration among global stakeholders to address the challenges posed by AI technologies. Together, we can shape an inclusive and responsible AI future.
(The author is an advocate by profession)