On Day 2 of the ORF Raisina Dialogue, a session called Winning the AI Marathon: India in the Global AI Race was organized. The major agenda of the session was to discuss how progress in AI requires large-scale investments, particularly in computing infrastructure. The discussion focused on whether countries like India can compete with wealthier economies and how emerging economies can access the leading-edge chips considered essential for AI advancement.
The session was hosted by Shereen Bhan, Managing Editor of CNBC-TV18. The panel included Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology, India; Vinod K. Dham, Founder and Executive Managing Partner, Indo-US Venture Partners; and Ronny Chatterjee, Chief Economist at OpenAI.
At the beginning of the session, Minister Vaishnaw stated that India is actively working on creating nearly 14,000 GPUs. Additionally, India is focused on developing its own Large Language Model (LLM). He emphasized that this is essential because open-source models may not remain accessible in the long run. He humorously remarked that OpenAI should no longer be called “Open” since it is no longer truly open-source. He stressed the need for India to develop its own LLM.
He also discussed the key sectors where AI can be incorporated and set priorities for its application, identifying education, agriculture, health, and meteorology as top focus areas.
Vinod K. Dham stated that India is firmly in the AI race but must now transition to the next phase of competition. He emphasized the importance of continuous evolution in AI regulations and noted that India has already taken significant steps but now needs to scale up its efforts. He also pointed out that India does not need to replicate the $500 billion investment made by the United States in its StarNet project. Instead, he highlighted that India is highly innovative and must tailor its AI strategy to its own realities rather than simply copying the U.S. model.
Ronny Chatterjee added that India has a strong talent pool for AI development. However, he cautioned that India must ensure that this talent remains in the country and contributes to the growth of India’s AI industry rather than being absorbed by foreign markets.
Aayush Pal is a freelance writer on contemporary geopolitical developments. The views expressed in his work are entirely his own.
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