Davos/New Delhi:
India’s work on artificial intelligence (AI) has three main objectives that will be completed this year, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told NDTV at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos.
Mr Vaishnaw, the Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, and Electronics and Information Technology, is also the head of the India AI mission.
“The India AI mission has three major objectives that we are going to do in this year itself. First is to create a common compute facility of 10,000 GPUs. Second is to have that very strong talent pipeline. Third is to basically focus on getting the applications in,” Mr Vaishnaw told NDTV near the India pavilion at Davos.
“Apart from that, we have had a very senior-level committee headed by the principal scientific advisor to advise us on what should be the policy framework. So that recommendation has already come. We are discussing with all the stakeholders to get the right regulatory framework where innovation and regulation are neatly balanced,” the Union Minister said.
He said his experience in talking to AI professionals globally indicates good thinking has gone in, which is today there is a consensus that the potential of AI in solving some of the most complex problems such as in the areas of healthcare, weather forecasting, logistics, and design, can be tapped. “Simultaneously, the societal issues which are there must be addressed. So that understanding and that reckoning is very clear.”
Large Language Models
Mr Vaishnaw said India is working with stakeholders on two more items which will form the next phase of the AI mission – getting a homegrown AI chip designed, and having an indigenous AI model.
The other important and related area is making semiconductors. Mr Vaishnaw said from the time the semiconductor mission was announced in January 2022 till today, construction is going on well at five semiconductor units in India.
“We just completed the semiconductor roundtable with senior professionals, CEOs of the semiconductor industry, and all of them expressed their huge satisfaction at the progress of the India Semiconductor Mission. Many of them met Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they came for the second edition of the event,” the Union Minister said.
He said people have shown huge confidence in the semiconductor programme.
“And now we are focusing on the next stage of it. We should have our first Made In India chip rolled out this year itself,” he said.
The five-day meeting at Davos that began on Monday is exploring how to relaunch growth, harness new technologies and strengthen social and economic resilience, according to the World Economic Forum. The global meeting is seeing participation by nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including 350 governmental leaders.
India’s participation at Davos aims to strengthen partnerships, attract investment, and position the country as a global leader in sustainable development and technological innovation. India sent five Union ministers, three chief ministers, and ministers from several other states to the WEF this time.
