New Delhi, Jan 21 (.) Outrightly rejecting IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s claim that India belongs to a “second grouping” of AI economies, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said global benchmarks place the country firmly among the top tier of AI-ready nations.
He said that India is building capabilities across the entire AI stack, including by providing government-subsidised access to GPUs.
“India is democratising 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 India and the world,” he said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Tuesday, Vaishnaw questioned the criteria used by the IMF and pointed to a Stanford University assessment that ranks India third globally in AI preparedness.
“I don’t know what the IMF criteria is, but Stanford places India third in the world for AI preparedness. I don’t think your classification is correct,” he said, adding that India should “clearly be in the first group.”
The minister highlighted that the AI regulation must follow a techno-legal approach, not just standalone laws, stressing the need for robust technical tools to address risks such as bias and deepfakes, including detection systems accurate enough to stand judicial scrutiny.
“India is developing technologies to mitigate bias, enable reliable deepfake detection, and ensure proper unlearning before AI models are deployed,” he said.
The minister also emphasised India’s systematic approach to AI adoption, which is to overcome GPU scarcity.
He said the government has established a public-private partnership with 38,000 GPUs as a common compute facility, accessible to students, researchers, and startups at roughly one-third the global cost, unlike many countries where big tech controls GPU access.
Further, the minister highlights the economics of the Fifth Industrial Revolution. “ROI will come from deploying cost-effective solutions. Large AI models don’t always need expensive GPUs; smaller models can suffice using widely available CPUs, reducing dependency on specific countries and minimizing geopolitical risks,” he said.
Earlier, in a social media post on X, Vaishnaw said, “Bharat is building a complete semiconductor ecosystem covering design, fabrication, packaging, materials, gases, and equipment. Global industry sees Bharat as an increasingly reliable supply chain partner.”
He also highlighted the recent engagement with Google, saying it is strengthening its commitment to India’s AI ecosystem, including a USD 15B AI data centre in Vizag & partnerships with Indian startups.
. VK VAN .
