AI for All: India’s Strategic Blueprint for a Smarter and Inclusive Future

Posted On - 20 November, 2025 • By - Nivedita Bhardwaj

Introduction

A new era has come to India driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is not only for large businesses and laboratories, it is reaching schools, hospitals, villages and even to start-ups. AI is changing how people live, work and learn – improving health care, agriculture, governance and customising education.

The Government of India is making strong progressive efforts to ensure that AI is open, affordable and accessible for all by taking initiatives like the India AI Mission and Centres of Excellence (CoEs) to ensure AI is for every citizen as the country aims to be a developed nation by 2047.

Understanding AI

AI or Artificial Intelligence is described as the ability of a machine to think, learn and carry out tasks, which would otherwise require human intelligence. For example, AI can allow a system to take data, make pattern identifications, and make decisions or predictions. AI works by building algorithms and models that improve over time through data availability and experience.

In the report “AI for Inclusive Societal Development,” published by NITI Aayog in October 2025, the potential of AI to deploy access to education, health care, and financial services for India’s informal work force of 490 million is presented. The report asserts that AI may be an important factor in closing the gap between rural and urban India in an equitable way.

India’s AI Ecosystem

India’s technology sector is growing rapidly, with revenues likely to cross USD 280 billion this year and employment of over 6 million people. The country hosts around 1.8 lakh startups, and nearly 89% of new startups launched last year used AI. More than 1,800 Global Capability Centres, including 500 AI-focused centres, are contributing to this growth.

According to NASSCOM, India has an AI Adoption Index of 2.45 out of 4, showing that 87% of enterprises are already using AI in sectors like banking, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture. About 26% of Indian companies have reached AI maturity at scale. India also ranks among the top four nations in AI skills and is the second-largest contributor to AI projects on GitHub.

The India AI Initiative:

The India AI Initiative was announced in March 2024 with a spending plan of ₹10,371.92 crore, and works towards establishing India as an international leader in AI. This initiative draws on the vision of “Making AI in India and Making AI Work for India.” Reported by India AI, a team established in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the initiative has made significant progress towards building the necessary AI infrastructure.

India now has a computing capacity that has grown from 10,000 GPUs to 38,000 GPUs, which are now going to be made available to start-ups and researchers for the subsidized price of ₹65 a GPU per hour.

The mission is based on seven key pillars:[1]

  1. Compute Infrastructure: Expanding GPU capacity at affordable rates.
  2. Application Development: Creating AI tools for governance, healthcare, and agriculture.
  3. AIKosh: Providing access to 3,000+ datasets and 243 AI models to developers.
  4. Foundation Models: Building large language models in Indian languages.
  5. FutureSkills: Training youth; over 200 students have received fellowships, and 27 Data & AI Labs have been set up in smaller cities.
  6. Startup Financing: Supporting AI startups and helping them expand globally.
  7. Safe & Trusted AI: Promoting responsible, bias-free, and privacy-protecting AI systems.

Facilitating Initiatives

The government has also rolled out many programs to support building the AI ecosystem through the establishment of Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in health, agriculture, and education, to foster engagement between the academic and industry space. Additionally, the establishment of five National Centres of Excellence for Skilling, which is where future AI professionals will be trained to enter the workforce further supports these efforts.

The AI Competency Framework provides government officials an appropriate level of understanding AI to better support the position of policymakers. The India AI Startups Global Acceleration Programme is an offering of Station F and HEC Paris that supports Indian startups to transition into foreign markets.

Other initiatives include Sarvam AI, Bhashini, and BharatGen AI that are revolutionizing the provision of public services. Sarvam AI increases the efficiency of Aadhaar Services while Bhashini is ensuring digital access in 20 Indian languages, and, along with the recently inaugurated BharatGen AI (as of June 2025), is likely the first large language model funded by the government in India providing full access and accurateness for 22 Indian languages.

India is also hosting the India AI Impact Summit 2026 which will include an AI Expo with more than 300 exhibitors participating and multiple other events, including a research symposium and an AI Pitch Fest.

Artificial Intelligence in Daily Life[2]

Applications of Artificial Intelligence are present in several sectors. In healthcare, artificial intelligence is aiding in disease diagnosis and is facilitating virtual consultations. In agriculture, artificial intelligence provides farmers with weather forecasts and crop management strategies and is aiding initiatives like Kisan e-Mitra.

In education, current AI modules being introduced by CBSE and NCERT in Grade VI prepare students to critically think about the ethical implications of using AI. Platforms such as DIKSHA and YUVAi are also helping students utilize their knowledge of AI in real-life facets including smart cities and health care.

Artificial Intelligence is also being utilized in governance and the justice system (i.e., the e-Courts Project which provides judgments translated into local dialects). The India Meteorological Department is using AI for forecasting rainfall, lightning, and cyclones and is therefore improving preparedness for disasters.

Artificial Intelligence for Jobs and Inclusion[3]

Artificial Intelligence is not displacing jobs, but is creating new jobs. The AI professional workforce in India is anticipated to increase from 6.5 lakh to 12.5 lakh professionals by 2027. FutureSkills PRIME has already trained 3.37 lakh learners in emerging technologies.

NITI Aayog’s Digital ShramSetu Mission will foster the informal worker using AI, IoTs, and blockchain, and is envisioning increased wages, transparency in initiatives, and enhanced opportunities to learn for India’s informal workers.

Conclusion

The story of India and artificial intelligence has been about innovation, inclusion, and progress. With initiatives such as the India AI Mission, BharatGen AI, and Digital ShramSetu,  the country is creating a situation where decision-making using technology can include all citizens.  Artificial intelligence is now an essential ingredient for India’s development story and is helping to support a reality where the country occupies a place on the map for a digitally empowered, smarter, and more inclusive nation that is embarking on a confident vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

[1] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2178092

[2] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2178092

[3] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2178092