India's AI Leap: A Practical 10-Point Plan for Self-Reliant, Inclusive Growth

India stands poised for a transformative AI era that will be uniquely our own. It will not mimic the elite, closed systems of Silicon Valley or the massive state-driven scale of Beijing. Instead, it will speak in our 22 languages (and multiple dialects), tackle our unique challenges like rural poverty and urban chaos, and empower every citizen from remote villages to thriving cities.  

The IndiaAI Mission, launched with a substantial budget, has already made strides: providing thousands of affordable GPUs, supporting large language models from innovative startups, and building sovereign datasets through AI Kosh. This foundation is solid. What we need now is a focused, actionable roadmap to accelerate progress and deliver tangible benefits. 

At its heart are two guiding principles: achieving true self-reliance (Aatmanirbhar Bharat) in AI technology, and democratising access so that no Indian is left behind. 

1. Bharatiya AI Tutors for Every Learner   

Education is the gateway to opportunity. We must deploy personalised AI mentors that understand Indian contexts and converse in local languages. Roll out UPI-integrated mobile apps loaded with thousands of tailored lessons. Train 1 million teachers nationwide on these indigenous tools. Draw content directly from our own curated datasets to ensure relevance - teaching everything from vocational skills to advanced STEM. Crucially, make access free for around 30 million students from low-income families, bridging the urban-rural divide from the start. 

2. Skilling the Informal Workforce   

Close to 500 million Indians earn their livelihood in the informal sector - street vendors, artisans, gig workers. They can't be sidelined in the AI age. Establish 5,000 dedicated training hubs in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns by 2028. Focus on practical, hands-on trades such as installing data-center infrastructure or maintaining drones. Deliver quick, mobile-friendly certifications to 100 million workers. Prioritize inclusion by targeting higher participation from women and rural communities, turning potential job displacement into widespread empowerment. The movie “Humans in the Loop” suggests a model. 

3. Supercharge Manufacturing with Indian AI   

India's manufacturing sector is on an upward trajectory, with electronics and automobiles leading the charge. To make this growth truly self-reliant, embed Indian AI into core production and supply chains. Extend PLI incentives to deploy indigenous AI for optimising lines, predictive maintenance, and quality control in large factories and clusters. Mandate that at least half the required GPUs come from local sources, fostering domestic chip ecosystems. Open-sourcing basic analytics platforms is about giving our core industrial backbone free, customizable, India-first AI intelligence that reacts faster than any disruption, thus making us truly self-reliant and competitive on the world stage. 

4. Wake Up 63 Million MSMEs   

MSMEs form the backbone of our economy, employing millions. Unlock their potential by providing zero-interest loans bundled with home-grown AI kits to one million units. Think of the AI kits as starter packs—software for predicting sales, managing inventory, chatting with customers, or finding the best suppliers—all designed to work in Indian languages and for Indian businesses.Create national online marketplaces that slash procurement delays by 30% through intelligent matching. This approach will reduce reliance on foreign software, building resilience and competitiveness from the ground up. 

5. Smarter Cities and Smoother Logistics   

With over half a billion people in urban areas, our cities face mounting pressures on traffic, water, and infrastructure. Introduce AI-powered dashboards in 100 major cities to optimise flows and resources. Deploy sensor networks and predictive systems to serve 50 million residents directly. Encourage local startups to innovate Indian-specific solutions. Extend real-time alerts and community tools to slum dwellers, ensuring technology serves the most vulnerable. 

6. Green AI for Farmers and Clean Air   

Agriculture sustains hundreds of millions, yet faces climate threats. Empower 10 million farmers through scaled-up schemes like Kusum, using AI to predict and boost crop yields by 20%. Deploy drone fleets to monitor and curb practices like stubble burning in pollution hotspots. Develop free, user-friendly apps in a dozen Indian languages to connect with 300 million rural users. 

7. Indigenous Drones and Defence AI   

National security demands cutting-edge, home-grown technology. Invest by directing 20% of defence R&D budgets to innovative startups. Prototype hundreds of advanced drone units annually for border and maritime surveillance. Accelerate development of sovereign AI chips, aiming to reduce foreign hardware dependency substantially by 2030. Adapt safe versions of these technologies for civil and community security applications. 

8. Sovereign Datasets and Affordable Compute   

Data is the fuel of AI. Massively expand our national repository, AI Kosh. Construct 100 high-speed edge computing nodes in rural and remote areas to enable low-latency applications. Maintain dramatically lower pricing than global competitors. Provide free or subsidized access to 20 million developers, with special emphasis on those from underrepresented regions and communities. 

9. Transform Jobs Without Leaving People Behind   

Generative AI will reshape around 38 million existing jobs while creating new ones. Proactively build portals that connect 10 million workers to emerging roles, such as AI-assisted rural healthcare or content curation. Offer wage subsidies to support transitions. Launch large-scale re-skilling programs delivered in local languages, using accessible tools like virtual reality simulations. 

10. Export Indian AI, Partner Wisely   

While guarding sovereignty, engage globally. MEA should have an ambitious goal of at least 20 bilateral agreements by 2028 for collaboration and market access. Target $100 billion in AI-related exports, from software services to complete solutions. Open-source variants of our National Model to earn international respect and build influence. Lead coalitions with the Global South, sharing affordable AI resources and best practices. 

This strategy is realistic and rooted in ongoing efforts: the IndiaAI Mission's compute portal, breakthroughs from startups like Sarvam AI in multilingual models, and our proven track record with digital public goods like UPI. 

Challenges persist in the form of fragmented data, persistent skill shortages, and lingering import dependencies. But India's unique advantages shine through: the world's largest youth demographic, a vibrant startup ecosystem, and an innate focus on innovation. 

We need not chase America's innovation dominance or China's manufacturing might on their terms. Instead, we forge a distinctly Indian path: AI developed on our soil, democratised for our people, and designed for our future. 

By 2030, AI must not exacerbate inequalities. It must become a great equalizer, widening opportunities for all. Let's seize it and build a truly Viksit Bharat. 

The author is a Senior Non-Resident Fellow on Emerging Technologies at the Centre for International Economic Understanding.

(Disclaimer: This is an authored article, and the views expressed are solely those of the contributors and do not reflect the opinions of Outlook Business.)