India Steps Up Ethical and Indigenous AI Drive Ahead of IndiaAI Impact Summit

India is intensifying its efforts to emerge as a global leader in ethical and indigenous artificial intelligence, following a high-level interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior technology leaders ahead of the IndiaAI Impact Summit scheduled for February. The meeting reflects the government’s broader ambition to combine technological self-reliance with responsible governance, positioning India as a trusted hub for human-centric and secure AI development.

The discussions underscored India’s intention to move beyond being a consumer of foreign AI platforms and instead become a creator of globally competitive, homegrown AI technologies. This strategic shift aligns with India’s long-term digital sovereignty goals and its push to build critical technology infrastructure within the country.

PM Modi emphasised the need to adopt cutting-edge technologies across all sectors and advocated for the use of indigenous solutions to drive national growth. | Business Today

PM Modi’s Vision: Indigenous Innovation with Ethical Foundations

Prime Minister Modi used the interaction to emphasise that India’s AI growth must be rooted in indigenous innovation while adhering to strong ethical standards. Drawing comparisons with the success of digital public infrastructure such as UPI, he highlighted India’s ability to create trusted, scalable platforms and encouraged industry leaders to replicate this model in artificial intelligence.

He stressed that there should be no compromise on ethical use, calling for AI systems that are transparent, impartial, and secure. The Prime Minister also highlighted data privacy, accountability, and democratic values as essential pillars of India’s AI ecosystem. His broader message focused on ensuring that technological advancement benefits all sections of society, reinforcing the vision of inclusive and affordable AI.

Industry, Academia, and Government Alignment

The high-level meeting brought together senior executives from major technology firms including Wipro, TCS, HCL Technologies, Zoho, LTI Mindtree, Jio Platforms, AdaniConnex, Nxtra Data, and Netweb Technologies. Academic experts from institutions such as IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, and IIIT Hyderabad also participated, highlighting the government’s intent to integrate research, talent development, and commercial innovation.

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were present, signalling strong policy backing for the AI agenda. Industry leaders reportedly expressed confidence in India’s growing AI ecosystem and supported the push for sovereign AI platforms, skilling initiatives, and globally relevant use cases.

IndiaAI Mission and National Compute Infrastructure

India’s AI strategy is anchored in the IndiaAI Mission, a ₹10,300 crore government initiative aimed at building national AI capabilities. The mission focuses on expanding high-performance compute infrastructure, supporting the development of Indian foundation models, enabling access to GPUs for startups and researchers, and strengthening responsible AI governance.

The government has announced large-scale provisioning of advanced GPUs to support indigenous model development, reducing dependence on foreign AI platforms. These efforts are intended to accelerate innovation in critical areas such as healthcare, agriculture, education, climate resilience, and public services, while also strengthening India’s position in foundational AI research.

Focus on Multilingual, Inclusive, and Localised AI

A key pillar of India’s AI strategy is the development of multilingual and culturally contextual AI systems. Officials and experts have highlighted the importance of building models that support Indian languages and address local governance and societal needs. This approach is seen as essential for ensuring that AI adoption is inclusive and relevant across India’s diverse population.

The government has also emphasised skilling and talent development, particularly in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, to ensure that the benefits of AI-driven growth are distributed more evenly. By expanding training, data annotation, and research opportunities, India aims to build a broad-based AI workforce capable of supporting long-term innovation.

Strengthening Ethical and Regulatory Frameworks

Alongside innovation, India is strengthening its ethical and governance frameworks for AI. Policy discussions have focused on accountability, transparency, and data protection, with government bodies working to integrate legal oversight with technical safeguards. India has also engaged with international organisations such as UNESCO to align with global norms on responsible and human-centric AI.

In parallel, regulators including the Reserve Bank of India have highlighted the need for structured governance frameworks for AI use in sensitive sectors such as finance, reinforcing the emphasis on auditability, risk management, and systemic stability.

The MGMM Outlook

India’s renewed push for ethical and indigenous artificial intelligence reflects a strategic shift toward technological sovereignty and responsible innovation. The engagement between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leading technology and academic stakeholders highlights a clear intent to move beyond dependence on foreign AI platforms and build globally competitive, homegrown capabilities. By drawing on India’s success with trusted digital public infrastructure such as UPI, the government is reinforcing the idea that large-scale, secure, and inclusive platforms can also be replicated in advanced technologies like AI. The emphasis on transparency, accountability, data privacy, and democratic values signals that India’s AI growth is being shaped around long-term trust and societal benefit rather than short-term technological adoption.

The IndiaAI Mission and expansion of national compute infrastructure further underline this strategic direction, with strong focus on foundation models, GPU access, and applied AI across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and governance. The development of multilingual and locally contextual AI systems strengthens inclusivity, ensuring relevance across India’s diverse population. At the same time, alignment between industry, academia, and government, along with evolving ethical and regulatory frameworks, positions India to emerge as a credible global hub for responsible and human-centric AI. This integrated approach strengthens India’s standing as not just a consumer of AI innovation, but as a trusted creator shaping the future of artificial intelligence on its own terms.

(Sources: Business Today, Times of India, Economic Times)