Davos [Switzerland], January 22 (ANI): Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday outlined India’s comprehensive and methodical approach to artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and economic growth, asserting that the world increasingly views India as a trusted value-chain partner and a bright spot in an otherwise turbulent global environment.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2026 in Davos, Vaishnaw detailed India’s five-layer artificial intelligence mission, which he described as the backbone of the country’s AI strategy. He said the global AI industry is recognising India’s systematic progress across all critical layers.
“If we look at what AI is, AI has five elements,” Vaishnaw said. “The first is the application layer—how we use it. The second is the model layer. The third is the chip or semiconductor layer. The fourth is infrastructure, including data centres. The fifth layer is energy.”
Calling AI the foundation of the Fifth Industrial Revolution, the Minister emphasised that energy will play a decisive role in shaping the future of AI-driven economies. “From energy to applications, India’s methodical work has been highly appreciated by the world, especially by the AI-related industry,” he said.
Vaishnaw also highlighted India’s shift away from big-tech-controlled AI infrastructure toward a public-private partnership model. He revealed that India has established a shared compute facility with 38,000 GPUs, accessible to students, researchers, and startups at nearly one-third of global costs—unlike many countries where access to advanced GPUs remains concentrated among large technology firms.
On regulation, the Minister advocated a “techno-legal” approach instead of relying solely on standalone legislation. He said modern challenges such as algorithmic bias and deepfakes require robust technical solutions that can withstand judicial scrutiny. India, he noted, is developing tools for bias mitigation, reliable deepfake detection, and proper “unlearning” before AI models are deployed.
Vaishnaw also challenged the perception that AI progress depends entirely on expensive hardware, stating that nearly 95 per cent of AI applications can be developed using models with 20–50 billion parameters. He argued that the future return on investment in the Fifth Industrial Revolution will come from scalable, cost-effective solutions rather than brute-force computing.
Beyond AI, the Minister underscored India’s growing global credibility. “India is being seen today as a trusted value chain partner all over the world,” he said, adding that investors consistently described India as a “bright spot” during discussions at Davos. He attributed this confidence to India’s democratic stability and sustainable economic growth.
Vaishnaw projected that India will continue to grow at six to eight per cent in real terms and 10 to 13 per cent in nominal terms over the next five years, supported by moderate inflation and strong structural fundamentals. Speaking at the ‘Bet on India – Bank on the Future’ session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with EY, he highlighted government efforts to improve ease of doing business, including reducing telecom tower permission timelines from 270 days to just seven days, with 89 per cent of approvals now granted on the same day.
The Minister also pointed to India’s long-awaited breakthrough in the semiconductor sector. After decades of dependence on imports, India has finally made a significant mark, he said, noting that one of the country’s four semiconductor plants currently in pilot production is expected to begin commercial operations by the last week of February.
“This is a matter of great pride for the country and the result of focused execution,” Vaishnaw said, crediting sustained policy support and international collaboration. He added that India has entered partnerships across the rare earths and semiconductor value chains with countries including the United States, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and nations across Europe to build a resilient ecosystem.
Looking ahead, Vaishnaw reiterated that India is on track to become the world’s third-largest economy in the coming years. He attributed this momentum to four pillars: massive public investment in physical, digital, and social infrastructure; inclusive growth; a strong push for manufacturing and innovation; and relentless simplification of regulations.
“All this, combined with the technology base we have created, gives us a 95 per cent confidence interval for sustained growth over the next five years,” he said, stressing that social security and protection for the poorest remain central to India’s development agenda.
Rajiv Memani, President of CII and Regional Managing Partner for Africa-India at EY, echoed the optimism, calling for India’s per capita income to increase at least five-fold by 2047. (ANI)
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