New Delhi

India is expecting investments of more than USD 200 billion over the next two years, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday, highlighting strong global interest in the country’s artificial intelligence and deep tech ecosystem.

Speaking on the sidelines of the India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam, Vaishnaw said there were multiple dimensions to the growing international engagement with India.

“There are two types of interest. The first is investment. There is an expectation of more than USD 200 billion in investments over the next two years. The second is deep tech funding by venture capital, and the third is India’s innovativeness and its digital public infrastructure,” he told ANI.

Elaborating on the role of technology frameworks, the minister said India’s digital public infrastructure provides a strong foundation for faster adoption of AI.

“Because of the digital public infrastructure, there is a very good technology framework under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Due to this framework, the diffusion of AI in India can be accelerated. This is what everyone believes,” he said.

Vaishnaw noted that global CEOs are showing keen interest in investing in India, particularly in deep tech startups, infrastructure and population-scale solutions.

“There is a lot of interest in investing in India, especially in Indian deep tech startups, infrastructure, and in finding new solutions at population scale. The digital public infrastructure created in the country gives a huge advantage to any solution that needs to be deployed at scale,” he said.

Referring to the scale of participation at the summit, the minister said the event had generated significant enthusiasm, especially among young people.

“More than 3,00,000 youth, researchers and students have registered. All sessions are houseful, and there is tremendous excitement, particularly among the youth. There is a new energy across the country about using AI to solve big problems at population scale,” he said.

Vaishnaw also stressed the need to balance innovation with safeguards. “We must solve big economic and social problems, while at the same time preventing the harms of technology. By balancing these two aspects, we have to move forward,” he added.

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The India AI Impact Summit has brought together policymakers, global industry leaders, investors and innovators to discuss leveraging AI for large-scale economic and social transformation while addressing associated risks. The Prime Minister is scheduled to deliver the inaugural address later this week.