Central Idea

In a strategic move towards bolstering its technological prowess, India is set to extend its Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) model to artificial intelligence (AI), aiming for sovereign AI capabilities.

Sovereign AI Initiative

Strategic Direction: Minister of State for Electronics and IT has articulated India’s commitment to developing its own sovereign AI, diverging from solely relying on ecosystems driven by global tech giants.
Focus Areas: The government’s AI strategy is based on practical applications in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and governance, aiming for broader economic impact.

Global Positioning: India is showcasing itself as a leader in using technology for large-scale governance solutions.
Prominent Examples: The country highlights its Aadhaar bio-metric identity program and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) as key achievements.
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): This concept involves government-backed technology frameworks that are later expanded upon by private entities for various applications.

Policy Framework: The National Data Governance Framework Policy, proposed by MeitY, aims to create an India Datasets platform, aggregating non-personal and anonymized government data.
Empowering Innovation: This initiative is designed to provide startups and researchers with access to valuable data for AI development and research.
Objective: The policy’s goal is to modernize data collection to enhance governance and stimulate an AI-centric startup ecosystem.

Report Findings: A recent IT Ministry report highlighted the India datasets program as a key to enabling diverse data sharing and exchange use cases.
Data Monetization: The potential monetization of non-personal data is seen as a catalyst for innovation and growth in the AI sector.

Legislative Outlook: India’s future AI governance laws are expected to reflect the significant role AI plays in the digital economy.
Regulatory Approach: The government plans a hybrid regulatory model, incorporating elements of both European and American frameworks.
Tech Giants’ Data Sharing: A proposed directive, part of the draft Digital India Bill, may require major tech companies to contribute non-personal data to a government database.
Legislative Timeline: The Digital India Bill is anticipated to be a focus for the government post the 2024 general elections.
Committee Recommendations: A MeitY-appointed committee suggested utilizing aggregated non-personal data for economic gains, identifying specific high-value datasets for this purpose.

In its pursuit of sovereign AI and robust digital public infrastructure, India is positioning itself as a key player in the global AI domain.
The focus on practical AI applications, combined with a balanced regulatory approach, aims to foster innovation, ensure effective data governance, and drive economic growth.