Key Points

Manish Singhal, secretary general of ASSOCHAM, and Sandeep Dutta, chief practice officer, APAC at Fractal, shared their perspectives on how the country can leverage AI for transformative change.

Singhal pointed to education, health, and agriculture as the three sectors where AI can deliver maximum social impact. He noted that global partnerships are essential, particularly in semiconductors, where no country can be entirely self-reliant.

"India would have a semiconductor ecosystem, but likewise, we will have to complement that ecosystem with what we can get from outside. The global leaders are already there. We should complement that effort," he said.

Singhal underlined that AI must be implemented responsibly to build trust among people. "AI adoption can be very beneficial, yes, provided it is done in a trustworthy and responsible way," Singhal told ANI. He said he hoped the discussions at the event would leave participants with "a very positive view about AI because right now there is a lot of apprehension."

Sandeep Dutta described AI as a force already shaping not only economies and businesses but also global geopolitics. "From what we are seeing, AI is becoming truly transformative and influencing not just the economies and the businesses, but also the geopolitics of the world. And with that, India has to really gear up for AI," he told ANI. He pointed out that India enjoys the advantage of having one of the world's largest AI talent pools and a thriving startup ecosystem, "after the Silicon Valley."

However, he highlighted the gaps in original research. "While we have such a great talent pool, we are definitely lagging behind in original research, producing AI products from the country," Dutta said, noting that India published only about 85,000 AI research papers over the past decade compared to China's 450,000 and the United States' 320,000 to 330,000. He highlighted that India's share of papers presented at top global AI conferences stands at just 1.5 per cent.

Dutta emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between government and industry. He also stressed the importance of building a semiconductor industry for long-term sovereignty while balancing global partnerships for parts of the value chain.

With the right mix of local innovation and global collaboration, both leaders suggested, the country could turn its AI potential into a defining advantage.

- ANI