**Executive Summary**
The document reports on Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw's participation in a high-level panel discussion at Davos, where India's approach to AI development and governance was highlighted. India is positioning itself as a leader in AI, focusing on real-world deployment and ROI. The discussion took place on January 21, 2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **India's AI Strategy:**
* India is identified as one of the first AI-ready nations, progressing systematically across all layers of AI architecture.
* The focus is on real-world deployment and return on investment (ROI), rather than solely on large models.
* India is using efficient, cost-effective AI models across sectors to boost productivity and efficiency.
* **Democratizing AI Access:**
* The government is facilitating GPU access through a public-private partnership model.
* 38,000 GPUs have been made accessible at subsidized rates to students, researchers, and startups.
* A nationwide AI skilling program aims to train 10 million people to enhance AI capabilities.
* **AI Governance:**
* A "techno-legal approach" is needed for AI governance, emphasizing technical tools to detect bias and deepfakes.
* Focus is on developing indigenous technological safeguards.
* **Recognition and Ranking:**
* Stanford University ranks India third globally in AI penetration and preparedness, and second in AI talent.
* India's emphasis on AI diffusion, accessibility, and sovereign capability is considered a model for emerging economies.
**Impact Analysis**
**Government of India**
*Impact*
The Government is driving the vision of India as a leader in AI through strategic initiatives.
*Action Required*
Continue to promote AI skilling initiatives, public-private partnerships, and techno-legal AI governance.
**Indian IT Industry and Startups**
*Impact*
Improved access to AI tools, talent, and opportunities for scalable AI services.
*Action Required*
Leverage government initiatives to scale AI services for domestic and global markets.
**Students and Researchers**
*Impact*
Gain access to subsidized GPU resources and AI training programs.
*Action Required*
Participate in AI skilling initiatives and leverage subsidized resources for research and development.
Key Entities Referenced
Artificial Intelligence (AI): The main topic of the discussion focusing on its governance, diffusion, and impact.
Ashwini Vaishnaw: Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology who participated in the panel discussion and presented India's approach to AI.
Public-Private Partnership Model (for GPU Availability): The initiative is addressing the constraint of GPU availability to democratize access to advanced AI capabilities.
Davos: Location of the panel discussion focused on India's initiatives in AI.
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology: Ministry of the Government of India represented by Ashwini Vaishnaw during the discussion.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
India Makes an Impactful beginning in Davos
Indian AI Models are more relevant to global problems; We
are offering Maximum Return at Low Cost in the Era of the
Fifth Industrial Revolution: Ashwini Vaishnaw
AI is democratising technology in India. It is helping us deliver
Efficient Services: Ashwini Vaishnaw
India Positions Itself as a First-Group Global AI Power at ‘AI
Power Play’ Panel, Contests IMF Ranking
Our Techno-Legal Approach to AI Governance will Address
Bias, Deepfakes and Trust: Ashwini Vaishnaw
प्रव तथ: 21 JAN 2026 5:20PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw participated in the
high-level global panel discussion titled “AI Power Play”, which focused on the evolving geopolitics of
Artificial Intelligence, its economic impact, governance challenges and pathways for inclusive diffusion.
The discussion brought together leading global policymakers, industry leaders and multilateral institutions
to deliberate on how AI is reshaping power, productivity and policy across nations.
The panel was moderated by Mr. Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group, and featured distinguished
speakers including Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
(IMF); Mr. Brad Smith, President and Vice Chair of Microsoft; Mr. Khalid Al-Falih, Minister ofInvestment, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; and Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics and
Information Technology, Government of India.
Speaking at the panel, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw underlined that India is clearly in the first group of AI-
ready nations, with systematic progress across all five layers of the AI architecture applications, models,
chips, infrastructure and energy. He emphasised that India’s AI strategy is firmly anchored in real-world
deployment and return on investment (ROI) rather than an excessive focus on very large models.
“ROI does not come from creating the largest models. Nearly 95 percent of real-world use cases can be
addressed using models in the 20–50 billion parameter range,” the Minister said. He highlighted that India
has already developed a bouquet of such efficient, cost-effective models, which are being deployed
across sectors to enhance productivity, efficiency and effective technology use. This approach, focused on
offering maximum return at low cost, reflects India’s emphasis on economically sustainable AI
deployment. Citing global benchmarks, Shri Vaishnaw noted that Stanford University ranks India third in
AI penetration and preparedness, and second globally in AI talent.
#Watch | Union Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw says nearly 95% of AI work can be
done using the 20–50 billion parameter models, which India is already deploying
across sectors to boost productivity and efficiency. He added that Stanford ranks
India third globally in AI penetration,… pic.twitter.com/i2dc27PaEc
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 21, 2026
Highlighting India’s focus on large-scale AI diffusion, and democratising access to advanced AI
capabilities, Shri Vaishnaw detailed the Government’s decision to address the critical constraint of GPU
availability through a public-private partnership model. Under this initiative, 38,000 GPUs have been
empanelled as a shared national compute facility, subsidised by the Government and made accessible to
students, researchers and startups at nearly one-third the global cost. He also highlighted India’s
nationwide AI skilling programme, aimed at training 10 million people to ensure that India’s IT industry
and startups effectively leverage AI for domestic and global service delivery.Union Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw says India is democratizing AI by offering
government-subsidised GPU access at one-third of the global cost, free AI
models for common needs, training 10 million people in AI skills, and steering the
IT industry toward scalable AI services for… pic.twitter.com/drOXcMfK97
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 21, 2026
On regulation and governance, Shri Vaishnaw stressed the need for a techno-legal approach to AI. “AI
governance cannot rely on law alone. We must develop technical tools to detect bias, authenticate
deepfakes with court-admissible accuracy, and ensure safe deployment through mechanisms such as
unlearning,” he said, adding that India is actively developing such indigenous technological safeguards.
#WATCH| Union Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw says AI regulation must follow a
techno-legal approach, not just standalone laws. He stressed the need for robust
technical tools to address risks such as bias and deepfakes, including detection
systems accurate enough to stand judicial… pic.twitter.com/PE6fYSUQ0s
— DD News (@DDNewslive) January 21, 2026
Other speakers also acknowledged India’s growing role in the global AI landscape. Mr. Ian Bremmer
noted that India has emerged as a significant geopolitical and technological player over the past decade,
while representatives from global institutions and industry highlighted India’s emphasis on diffusion,
accessibility and sovereign capability as a model for emerging economies.
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Dharmendra Tewari/ Mahesh Kumar/ Vivek Vishwash
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