Relevance: GS III (Science & Tech – AI & Indigenization) | Source: The Hindu / Economic Survey 2026
1. The Core Philosophy: Human Primacy
The Economic Survey 2026 emphasizes “Human Primacy and Economic Purpose.”
- The Shift: Instead of competing solely on “Compute Power” (building the biggest GPU clusters), India’s strategy focuses on building an “AI Applications Stack”—a layer of practical, scalable AI solutions that solve real-world problems (like healthcare access or crop failure).
2. The “India AI Applications Stack” (Key Examples)
Just as the “India Stack” (UPI, Aadhaar) revolutionized payments, this proposed stack bundles indigenous AI innovations for social good:
| Sector | Innovation / Startup | Impact |
| Healthcare | Niramai | Uses AI-driven thermal imaging for breast cancer screening. It is non-invasive, privacy-conscious, and portable, unlike expensive mammography. |
| Qure.ai | Analyzes X-rays/CT scans in seconds to detect TB and lung cancer, crucial for rural areas with no radiologists. | |
| Agriculture | CottonAce (Wadhwani AI) | Farmers upload photos of pests; AI identifies them (e.g., Pink Bollworm) and advises on precise pesticide use, boosting profits. |
| Niqo Robotics | AI-cameras on sprayers identify weeds in real-time (“See & Spray”), reducing pesticide usage by 60-90%. | |
| Education | PadhaiWithAI | A personalized learning platform for government schools that adapts to the student’s learning level. |
3. Role of Government: From Regulator to Orchestrator
The government must act as an “Ecosystem Orchestrator” by:
- Market Making: Becoming the first major buyer (e.g., deploying Qure.ai in all PHCs) to help these startups scale.
- Benchmarking: Setting standards for AI performance to build trust.
- Global Export: Packaging this “Stack” as a plug-and-play model for other Global South nations facing similar challenges.
UPSC Value Box
| Concept / Term | Relevance for Prelims |
| Frugal AI | High-tech AI solutions adapted for low-resource environments (low cost, portable, works offline). Examples: AISteth (Smart Stethoscope) and Neoperk (Soil testing without labs). |
| “AI for All” | NITI Aayog’s national strategy focusing on AI for social inclusion (Health, Agri, Education) rather than just commercial profit. |
| Compute vs. Application | Compute: The raw processing power (GPUs) needed to train models. Application: The user-facing tool (App/Interface) that solves a specific problem using those models. India is focusing on the latter. |
Q. With reference to the “India AI Mission” and related initiatives, consider the following statements:
- The “India AI Applications Stack” focuses primarily on building the world’s largest Large Language Models (LLMs) to compete with GPT-4.
- “Niramai” and “Qure.ai” are indigenous AI initiatives primarily associated with the healthcare sector.
- The Economic Survey 2026 advocates for a “Human Primacy” approach, prioritizing AI that solves real-world socio-economic problems.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Correct Answer: (b)
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