India’s AI Vision: Shaping the Future at the AI Action Summit 2025
The AI4India Weekly #39
India is shaping the global AI landscape, not just through innovation but also by leading the conversation on responsible AI governance. At the AI Action Summit 2025 in Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India's vision for AI—one that balances technological advancement, inclusivity, and global collaboration. From advocating open-source AI systems and ethical data-sharing to emphasizing AI’s role in sustainability and economic growth, India is positioning itself as a key driver of AI for development.
Beyond the summit, India's AI leadership was highlighted in key discussions, including an exclusive BBC interview with AI4India Co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati, and an insightful side event by AI4India & CPRG on "Data for Development" in the Global South. As India gears up to host the next Global AI Summit, the momentum is stronger than ever. This edition of AI4India Weekly dives into India's AI roadmap, policy directions, and the next steps in AI governance and innovation.
India's Vision for AI: PM Modi's Address at AI Action Summit 2025
The AI Action Summit 2025, held in Paris, marked a pivotal moment in shaping global AI governance, innovation, and collaboration. Co-chaired by India alongside France, the summit brought together world leaders, policymakers, and AI experts to discuss the responsible development and deployment of artificial intelligence. In his keynote address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlined India’s vision for AI, emphasizing its transformative potential, the need for inclusive governance, and India's role as a leader in AI adoption and innovation.
Harnessing AI for Good and for All
PM Modi began his speech with a thought-provoking demonstration of AI’s capabilities and limitations, highlighting the biases that can arise from skewed training data. Acknowledging AI’s rapid advancements, he stressed the urgency for collective global action to establish governance frameworks that uphold shared values, address risks, and build trust.
However, governance, he noted, should not be limited to mitigating risks. It must also foster innovation, ensuring AI's benefits reach all, particularly the Global South. He advocated for open-source AI systems, quality unbiased datasets, and people-centric applications to democratize AI and make it accessible to all.
AI for Sustainable Development and Economic Growth
Highlighting AI’s potential to revolutionize sectors like healthcare, education, and agriculture, PM Modi underscored the importance of investing in skilling and re-skilling the workforce to adapt to AI-driven changes. While concerns over job losses due to AI are widespread, he pointed out that history has shown technology does not eliminate jobs but transforms them.
Sustainability was another critical focus. PM Modi emphasized the need for green energy to power AI’s future, referencing India and France’s successful collaboration on the International Solar Alliance. He called for AI models that are not only energy-efficient but also optimized for responsible resource use.
India’s Leadership in AI Adoption and Innovation
PM Modi showcased India’s achievements in digital public infrastructure, built on open-access networks, robust regulations, and a strong AI talent pool. He highlighted India’s National AI Mission and its unique public-private partnership model, making compute power accessible to startups and researchers at affordable costs.
Recalling India’s G20 Presidency, he reiterated the nation’s commitment to “Harnessing AI Responsibly, for Good, and for All.” With one of the world’s largest AI-ready workforces, a dedicated large language model under development, and a thriving AI startup ecosystem, India is well-positioned to lead the AI revolution globally.
As the summit concluded, it was announced that India will host the next edition of the Global Summit. This milestone further solidifies India's role as a global AI leader, providing an opportunity to shape the future of AI governance and innovation on home soil. With its commitment to responsible AI, digital empowerment, and sustainability, India is set to drive meaningful AI advancements that benefit not just its own citizens, but the world at large.
AI4India Co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati on India’s AI Leadership at the Global Summit with BBC News
In an exclusive interview with BBC News, AI4India Co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati highlighted India’s unique approach to AI governance—one that balances safety concerns with the vast opportunities AI presents. Speaking about the AI Safety Summit’s final declaration, he noted that while discussions around AI risks are essential, India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is focused on leveraging AI for economic growth, job creation, and technological leadership. He pointed out that Modi’s vision is not just about mitigating risks but also about embracing AI’s transformative potential, citing the Prime Minister’s own use of AI for multilingual political speeches as an example of responsible innovation.
Vempati also outlined India’s AI strategy, which is being driven by the IndiaAI Mission. This includes building domestic compute capacity, making Indian-context datasets publicly available, and prioritizing upskilling and reskilling initiatives to prepare the workforce for AI-driven industries. He emphasized that India’s strong IT and outsourcing capabilities position it as a global leader in AI-enabled services, particularly in data curation and enrichment. Addressing concerns about the U.S. and U.K. not signing the final declaration, he dismissed fears of a divide, stating that AI governance is an ongoing conversation—one that will continue when India hosts the next summit.
AI4India & CPRG’s Official Side Event at the Paris Summit
At the AI Action Summit 2025 in Paris, AI4India and the Center for Policy Research and Governance (CPRG) hosted a pivotal event, "Data for Development: Building AI in the Global South." The discussion gathered global policymakers, industry leaders, and AI experts to shape strategies on AI governance, data sovereignty, and economic transformation.
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT, emphasized the need for the Global South to take control of its data while fostering international collaboration. AI4India co-founders Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Alok Agarwal highlighted the role of equitable data access in AI governance, with Vempati calling for stronger frameworks to help emerging economies harness AI’s potential.
Dr. Ramanand, Director of CPRG, redefined the Global South beyond geography, advocating for inclusive AI adoption and ethical data-sharing models. Global AI policy leaders such as Sean Dougherty (OECD) and Gunjan Bhardwaj (Partex NV) contributed insights on AI-driven economic resilience and innovation.
Panelists, including experts from across the world, discussed key themes of data sovereignty, economic impact, and workforce transformation. Notably, Joel Ruet (CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique) and Ravi Kaushik (Center for Indo-European Cooperation) examined AI’s influence on global trade and cross-border AI collaborations.
In a curtain-raiser podcast, AI4India’s Shashi Shekhar Vempati underscored Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership in AI governance and the growing momentum of AI4India’s "Data Daan" initiative—advocating for open and publicly accessible datasets to drive AI development in India.
Coverages on the Side Event
https://ddnews.gov.in/en/paris-ai-action-summit-2025-all-you-need-to-know/
#DataDaan - Donate for a Digital India
Aligned with the IndiaAI Mission and MeitY’s efforts to ensure the availability of AI-usable data, the #DataDaan campaign by AI4India is now live on DataDaan.org. This initiative invites individuals and organizations to contribute valuable datasets, enriching India’s AI ecosystem and driving innovation across sectors. The platform provides a streamlined process for data contribution, ensuring responsible and impactful AI development. Visit DataDaan.org to explore the initiative and be part of this transformative effort.
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