Relevance for UPSC: GS Paper III (Science & Technology, Economy, Governance)
Source: Press Information Bureau (IndiaAI Mission); NITI Aayog AI Strategy

Key Takeaways

  • Artificial Intelligence is central to India’s economic and governance transformation.
  • The Compute Mission underpins innovation, sovereignty and inclusion.
  • Long-term success depends on skills, trust and ethical governance.

Context

India is pursuing a state-led, inclusive and sovereign Artificial Intelligence strategy to harness Artificial Intelligence for economic growth, public service delivery and social inclusion. The approach reflects a shift from passive technology adoption to strategic capacity-building, aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

Scale and Economic Significance

  • IndiaAI Mission outlay: ₹10,371 crore over five years
  • Economic potential: Artificial Intelligence could add $1.7 trillion to India’s GDP by 2035
  • Technology workforce: Over 6 million jobs, with Artificial Intelligence adoption expanding rapidly across sectors

UPSC Insight: Artificial Intelligence is now a general-purpose technology shaping productivity, governance and competitiveness across the economy.

IndiaAI Compute Mission: Strategic Backbone

The IndiaAI Compute Mission addresses India’s biggest bottleneck—access to affordable high-end computing power.

  • Deployment of 38,000 Graphics Processing Units through a public platform
  • Subsidised compute access for startups, researchers and academia
  • Reduces dependence on foreign cloud monopolies
  • Enables development of Indian foundation models suited to local languages and conditions

Value Addition: Compute access is treated as a public digital infrastructure, similar to Aadhaar or Unified Payments Interface, ensuring democratisation of innovation.

Applications with Governance Impact

  • Healthcare: Tuberculosis screening, radiology support, telemedicine
  • Agriculture: Crop advisory, pest surveillance, climate-risk prediction
  • Justice & Governance: e-Courts translation, case management, multilingual access
  • Education & Skills: Artificial Intelligence-enabled learning under National Education Policy 2020

Challenges

  • Data privacy and algorithmic bias
  • Digital divide and uneven skill distribution
  • Need for accountability in automated decision-making

Way Forward

  • Integrate Artificial Intelligence with Digital Public Infrastructure
  • Expand large-scale skilling and reskilling programmes
  • Strengthen ethical and responsible Artificial Intelligence regulation

One-line Wrap:India’s Artificial Intelligence strategy aims to turn technology into a public enabler of growth, governance and social inclusion.

UPSC Value Box

Why this issue matters:

  • Artificial Intelligence can boost growth, improve governance and enhance service delivery, but may also widen inequality if access remains concentrated.

Analytical Insight:

  • India’s emphasis on public compute infrastructure marks a departure from market-led Artificial Intelligence models dominated by global firms.

Way Forward / Reform:

  • Treat Artificial Intelligence infrastructure, data and skills as public goods, backed by strong ethical safeguards.

Q. “Examine how the IndiaAI Mission, particularly the Artificial Intelligence Compute initiative, can transform India’s economy and governance while ensuring inclusion and ethical use.”

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