India AI Summit: Ashwini Vaishnaw Calls AI 5th Industrial Revolution, Shares Plans for UPI-Like AI Platform

On the second day of the country's inaugural AI Impact Summit, the Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology (IT), Ashwini Vaishnaw, spoke about artificial intelligence (AI), India's global standing in this technology, and several other related topics. The Minister also addressed the concerns about deepfakes and highlighted the need for stricter regulation. He also hinted that India could witness a massive investment in the AI space over the next two years. Additionally, he also apologised for any inconvenience experienced by visitors on the first day of the AI Impact Summit.

Ashwini Vaishnaw Speaks at AI Impact Summit

On the commitment from global tech companies, Vaishnaw highlighted that all the top executives (of major AI companies) are present at the event and are participating in nearly twenty sessions across the five days.

“AI deployment is expanding across virtually every sector. It is the fifth industrial revolution, and it has the potential to impact every aspect of the economy and society,” Vaishnaw said, adding, “We have seen transformative solutions, particularly in healthcare, where AI can make services more affordable, and in education, where learning can be tailored to the needs of each student. These examples demonstrate the vast possibilities that AI offers across sectors.”

The IT Minister also said that India stands in a very strong position in terms of technology across all five layers of the AI stack. “So far, in the coming two years, we should be seeing more than $200 billion (roughly Rs. 18.13 lakh crore) investment across the five layers of the AI stack,” he said.

In an interaction with NDTV, the Union Minister said that India is being seen as a trusted AI partner to the Global South due to its open, affordable, and development-focused solutions. He also cited Stanford University's 2025 Global AI Index to highlight that India is ranked 3rd globally when it comes to AI.

Vaishnaw said that Indian AI systems are being developed keeping the country's cultural context in mind to ensure that the national subtleties are not missed. To this goal, local models are being trained primarily on Indian data to ensure relevance, inclusivity, and sensitivity to local norms and practices remain as part of the AI's working memory. He also stressed the importance of self-reliance when it comes to AI. “We do not want to be dependent on others for our strategic requirements; this is part of sovereign AI,” Vaishnaw said at the AI Impact Summit.

On concerns around AI-generated media and deepfakes, the IT Minister said, “I think we need a stronger regulation on deepfakes. It is a problem growing day by day. We need to protect our society from this harm. We have initiated a dialogue with the industry on this.” Additionally, he also mentioned that global tech companies such as Netflix and Meta should work as per the country's legal framework and cultural context.

Interestingly, Vaishnaw revealed plans to create a UPI-like platform which provides a bouquet of AI solutions for developers and enterprises. Calling it “AI ka UPI,” he said that the Government was focused on making AI accessible, secure, and scalable for developers and innovations in the country.

Finally, the Union IT Minister also addressed concerns of mismanagement at the event, after several visitors took to social media platforms to criticise the arrangement and handling of the booths and food stalls. Calling it the biggest AI summit in the world, Vaishnaw said, “If anybody has faced any problems yesterday, we apologise for that. Whatever feedback you have, please share it with us. We will make efforts to make the experience smoother and enjoyable for all of you.”