Democratising AI in India

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Tech

In News

• Recently, it has been highlighted that the democratisation of AI requires fair access to computing resources, data, and AI models, which are crucial for innovation and competitiveness in the digital economy.

What is Democratisation of AI?

• Democratisation of AI refers to making artificial intelligence accessible, affordable and usable for a wide and diverse set of users. It goes beyond access to finished applications. 
• It includes access to the core building blocks of AI such as computing power, datasets and model ecosystems. 
• As these resources become available at scale, individuals and institutions are expanding what they can achieve with AI.

Importance of Democratisation of AI

• Equitable Access: India is democratising AI to drive inclusive growth and economic opportunity, with over 6 million people employed in the sector.
  • Ensures AI tools are available across healthcare, education, agriculture, and finance, bridging socio-economic divides.
• Public Welfare: AI can enhance governance, improve service delivery, and empower citizens through transparent and efficient systems.
• Practical AI applications are enhancing agriculture, healthcare, and disaster preparedness, while India’s innovation ecosystem features over 200,000 startups, nearly 90% of which leverage AI.
• National Development: Applied AI can accelerate India’s development narrative by supporting initiatives like Digital India, Smart Cities, and agricultural reforms.
•  Global Positioning: Democratised AI strengthens India’s role in shaping global standards for ethical and inclusive technology.

Challenges

• Data Privacy & Security: Safeguarding citizen data while enabling large-scale AI deployment remains a critical concern.
• Bias & Fairness: AI systems risk perpetuating social biases if not designed with inclusivity and contestability in mind.
•  Infrastructure Gaps: Limited access to high-quality datasets, compute power, and skilled workforce in rural and underserved regions.
• Global Competition: Balancing innovation with systemic risk management while competing with frontier AI models in advanced economies.

Regulatory & Policy Framework

• Government Cloud and Digital Infrastructure: The GI Cloud, known as MeghRaj, was established under the Digital India initiative to meet the cloud needs of the Government of India.
  • Supported by MeitY, it provides secure, scalable and elastic cloud services for e Governance delivery. Features such as pay per use access, rapid deployment and on demand provisioning reduce costs and technical barriers for adopting AI. 
• Data Governance and Legal Enablers: India’s data governance framework promotes innovation while protecting privacy. The Government Open Data License (2017) allows reuse of non-sensitive public data for AI development, while the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023) ensures personal data security and compliance, fostering trust and accountability.
• Centres of Excellence (CoEs) promote research-led innovation in healthcare, agriculture, sustainable cities, and education, fostering collaboration between academia, industry, and government.
• Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) Trains students (Class 6–12) and educators in AI fundamentals and ethics.
• Vocational & Technical Training: Craftsmen Training Scheme offers 31 new-age courses, including AI and robotics, via ITIs and National Skill Training Institutes.
• Youth Engagement (YUVAi): Equips students (Classes 8–12) with AI and social skills across eight thematic areas.
• AI Competency for Government Officials: Provides structured training for officials to apply AI in policymaking and governance.
• Higher Education & Research (IndiaAI Mission): Supports 500 PhD, 5,000 postgraduate, and 8,000 undergraduate students, establishing AI labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities
  • IndiaAI Mission  expands access to high-quality datasets, reusable models via AIKosh, and indigenous multimodal AI models trained on Indian data and languages, supporting startups and innovation.

Global Cooperation for Democratising AI Resources

• The India–AI Impact Summit 2026 fosters global cooperation to democratise AI resources, focusing on fair access to data, compute, and infrastructure, especially for Global South countries. 
• The Democratizing AI Resources Working Group, co-chaired by India, Egypt, and Kenya, aims to make AI resources accessible and affordable, promote distributed infrastructure and open innovation, and support capacity-building and knowledge exchange. This initiative seeks to enable all nations to use AI for inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Conclusion and Way Forward 

• India’s approach to the democratisation of AI shows that scale, inclusion and innovation can progress together. 
• The focus on affordability, openness and trust ensures that benefits of AI reach farmers, students, researchers, startups and public institutions alike. 
• As India hosts the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, it also places this experience within a global context, offering a model shaped by the priorities of the Global South. The path ahead is clear. 
• Democratising AI is not a one-time effort but a continuing commitment to ensure that technological progress strengthens societies, reduces inequalities and supports sustainable development for all.

Source :PIB