What Nirmala Sitharaman Told NDTV On Role Of AI In Jobs

The Union Budget 2025 recognised the critical role that artificial intelligence (AI) will play in jobs and announced many initiatives to embrace AI, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told NDTV today in an exclusive post-Budget interview.

"No one can say no to AI-driven, technology-driven processes... We are developing centres to train people for AI," she said.

In 2023, the Finance Minister announced three Centres of Excellence in AI for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities. In Budget 2025, she announced a Centre of Excellence in AI for education with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore.

A startup in neighbouring China has developed an AI model 'DeepSeek', which analysts and users have said is better than AI models developed by Silicon Valley giants OpenAI and Google. DeepSeek, which started as a finance-focused hedge fund, is suddenly a force to reckon with - because its AI model is powerful, efficient and most importantly affordable.

Industry leaders have welcomed Ms Sitharaman's announcement to create three Centres of Excellence in AI for education, but to unleash the potential of Indian geniuses, they say it is also important to offer financial support and streamline the process of conducting business to bolster the startup community. The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) will provide the fuel needed to boost this ecosystem.