India Leading In AI Adoption, Also Shaping How It's Governed: N Sitharaman

Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, on Saturday said that India is not just leading in Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption but also shaping how it is governed.

Speaking at the 6th convocation of the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Kottayam, the minister said, "We're not just leading in the AI adoption. We're also shaping how AI is governed. Important for us to understand that. Not only are you using it, but you're also shaping how AI is governed. The recent AI-related summit, was called the AI Action Summit, which was held in Paris, where India was made to co-chair the event--not really all that easy for sitting at the table, at the head table, at the top table, and co-chairing that event. Honourable Prime Minister Modi spoke about how AI is not just a national issue but a global responsibility."

She added, "So it's not just AI for all of us to play around with; come up with solutions to handle it with a greater sense of responsibility. That is why when Prime Minister, sitting as a co-chair in a global AI action summit, saying these words gives us a very big message of, use AI but use it responsibly. Do not misuse it; do not use it unethically. So it is very important for us to have an AI that is ethical, which is inclusive, and which is trustworthy."

"Otherwise, that fear that some sections of society may have, what if AI leads to a lot of undetected unethical practices? Where are we to go for protection? That fear will not be mitigated unless we, from the beginning, understand it with responsibility."

The Union Finance Minister further highlighted that the country is not just experimenting with artificial intelligence (AI) but the government at the centre has taken a lot of inputs from stakeholders and is continuously coming up with policies to make sure that AI gets due attention.

"I know you're doing a lot of work on AI, internet-related things, IoT and so on. But India's not just experimenting with AI. Sitting in the government, I can tell you we have taken a lot of information from stakeholders but also continuously kept doing our policy to make sure AI gets the due attention," the Union Finance Minister Minister added.

Going further, she mentioned the Microsoft Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satya Nadella's comment that India is the 'use case capital of AI,' adding that the country is not just doing research on it but also implementing it on a large scale.

"I'd like to bring here before you and remind you of the words of Satya Nadella, the Microsoft CEO. He said India is a use case capital of the world for AI. For AI, India is the use case capital. What does it mean? That's a very big statement that is made. So it means that we are not just talking about AI or doing research in AI. We are actually implementing it at scale," she added.

Highlighting the awareness about the AI, she added that India recorded 3 billion AI-related app downloads in 2024.

"Look at the number: AI-related apps in India have been downloaded 3 billion, not million, billion, more than the US. The US's number is 1.5 billion, more than China's, which is 1.3 billion; ours is 3 billion, and theirs is 1.3 billion," she stated.

The Union Finance and Corporate Minister also emphasised the innovation taking place in the country, adding that India's rank in the Global Innovation Index has improved to 39th in 2024 among 133 economies from the 81st position in 2015.

India's patent-to-GDP ratio--a measure of the economic impact of patent activity--has grown significantly, from 144 in 2013 to 381 in 2023, she added.

She added that the country holds the 7th position in intangible asset intensity, surpassing the growth rates of many high-income economies.

India secured the 6th spot in global intellectual property filings as per WIPO in 2023, she highlighted, adding that the country has improved its Network Readiness Index ranking from 79th in 2019 to 49th in 2024, which shows that India is moving towards greater innovation and greater self reliance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)