As India hosts the AI Summit this week, the event must be viewed not as a technology showcase, but as a development inflection point. Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming foundational infrastructure — comparable to electricity, highways, or digital payments. The central question before India is whether AI will remain a private efficiency tool or evolve into a public productivity multiplier aligned with the vision of Vikshit Bharat@2047.
India’s development ambition rests on sustained high growth, improved human capital, stronger rural incomes, and efficient public service delivery. AI has the potential to accelerate each of these — provided it is embedded within policy architecture rather than treated as a standalone innovation.
The economic case is clear. Government assessments note that AI is expected to contribute significantly to India’s digital economy expansion over the coming decade. The IndiAI Mission, approved with a substantial public outlay (Rs. 10372 crore over a period of 5 years), reflects recognition that AI capabilities — compute infrastructure, datasets, research capacity, and skilling — must be treated as strategic national assets. This is not merely about startups; it is about national competitiveness and productivity.
In agriculture, which continues to employ a large share of the workforce, AI-enabled applications are already demonstrating measurable impact. Government pilots integrating artificial intelligence with weather forecasting, satellite imagery, and crop advisory services have reached millions of farmers across states. Evaluations indicate that a substantial proportion of participating farmers adjusted sowing decisions based on AI-driven monsoon forecasts. In a climate-stressed agricultural system, even modest improvements in decision-making translate into income stability and reduced risk exposure. Similarly, AI-based analytics are increasingly being deployed for crop health monitoring, soil assessment, and precision input management under government-supported initiatives. These applications support better water use efficiency and productivity — critical for sustaining agricultural growth under resource constraints.
In healthcare, AI is being positioned as a force multiplier for India’s primary health system. Government-supported innovations in AI-assisted diagnostics — including tools for tuberculosis screening and early disease detection — aim to compensate for shortages of specialist manpower in rural districts. By integrating such systems within public health networks, India can improve early detection rates, reduce referral burdens, and foster long-term treatment costs. The broader economic returns of preventive and early-stage intervention are well-documented in public health research.
Education and skilling form another crucial pillar of the Vikshit Bharat strategy. India’s demographic dividend will yield economic gains only if learning outcomes improve and workforce skills evolve alongside technological change. AI-powered adaptive learning tools, developed and piloted within government platforms, are being used to personalise instruction and identify learning gaps. If scaled responsibly — with teacher training and infrastructure support — such tools can help narrow regional disparities in foundational literacy and numeracy.
The governance dividend may prove equally significant. India’s experience with Digital Public Infrastructure has demonstrated how interoperable platforms can transform service delivery. Unified digital payments and direct benefit transfer systems have improved transparency and reduced leakages. AI-enabled workflow automation, grievance analytics, and fraud detection can deepen these efficiency gains. By reducing administrative friction, AI can strengthen state capacity — an often overlooked but essential driver of long-term growth.
However, evidence from past technological transitions also offers caution. Gains from digitalisation have been uneven across states, reflecting differences in institutional readiness and absorptive capacity. Technology amplifies policy — it does not substitute for it. For AI to meaningfully contribute to Vikshit Bharat, three policy anchors are essential.
First, public AI infrastructure. Shared datasets, compute capacity, and testing sandboxes — governed by clear privacy and security standards — can democratise innovation and reduce duplication. The IndiAI Mission’s emphasis on common infrastructure must translate into operational access for states, research institutions, and startups.
Second, human capital alignment. AI deployment must be accompanied by systematic skilling initiatives across sectors. Teachers, extension officers, health workers, and administrators require training to effectively use AI systems. Without complementary human investment, productivity gains will remain limited.
Third, regulatory clarity and accountability. High-stakes applications in health, finance, and governance demand auditability and transparent standards. Trust will determine adoption. Clear guidelines for procurement, testing, and oversight can encourage innovation while safeguarding public interest.
The AI Summit, therefore, should be judged not by memoranda signed but by follow-through: institutional mechanisms created, budgetary scaled, and measurable improvements delivered. If AI becomes embedded within agriculture missions, public health systems, education reforms, and governance processes — supported by public digital infrastructure — it can accelerate India’s development trajectory.
India has previously demonstrated its ability to adapt frontier technologies to public purpose. The opportunity now is to extend that model to artificial intelligence. Done right, AI will not merely power new applications; it will underpin the structural transformation required for a developed India. Therefore, the summit marks a moment of choice. Whether it becomes a turning point in India’s development story will depend on disciplined execution long after the delegates depart.
The writer is Senior Fellow at NCAER, New Delhi. The views expressed are personal.