In the world’s most advanced economies, AI is underpinning everything from targeted advertising to precision agriculture to improved health diagnostics. Recently India has decided to assume the title of Council Chair of Global Partnership on AI (GPAI). As a founding member of the Global Partnership on AI and an early AI adopter, India has shown distinct and significant receptivity to the technology. 

Delivering the keynote address at the Global Technology Summit 2022, Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, spoke about the role of technology in this era. India’s ability to drive consensus was evident during the recently concluded Bali summit. According to Amitabh Kant, India brought a consensus between the developed and developing worlds. In his opinion, this ability of our country would be critical as we unroll the G20 presidency in the coming year. 

According to Amitabh Kant, technology can aid the country in overcoming a number of challenges, from accelerating the pace of SDGs to enhancing financial inclusion, thereby eradicating poverty. India is a technological hub that the world looks up to. During COVID-19, India did a vast number of digital transformations.  

In contrast to the dominance of several top multinational firms, India has adopted a powerful new approach to policy governance by adopting digital public infrastructure. This, according to Amitabh Kant, has enabled India to leapfrog, with the public sector playing a pivotal role. India’s technological advancements are evident from the country’s advancements in banking, insurance and many more. 

“India’s achievement in 7 years would have taken 46 years to achieve”, stated Amitabh Kant. “As India takes over the G20 presidency, it has a unique opportunity to create a complete package of this digital world and deliver them end-to-end as an e-governance service to digitally transform the world”, he added. 

One Earth, one family 

During India’s G20 presidency, the country will work in partnership with other nations to promote digital public infrastructure. The major intentions of the partnership are: 

1. Deepening financial inclusion 
2. Improvement of efficient service delivery 
3. Better women’s growth 
4. Solving the challenges of the world by leveraging technology 

India will be working towards building digital inclusion with the help of highly qualified entrepreneurs in the country. 

What can India contribute? 

India has brought together a public and private partnership. India’s intention during this presidency will be to see if this model will work out in countries outside the advanced economies. However, the availability of resources to implement strong ideas is still a question. India’s digital oil is the newfound enthusiasm of tech entrepreneurs, work done on digital identity etc.  

 Speaking about India’s G20 presidency at the Global Technology Summit, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder & Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, stated that the G20 presidency has come to India at a very difficult and exciting time. In his opinion, India can contribute to several aspects during its tenure. This includes bringing peace and harmony among nations, calling out the digital divide and connecting G20 to Africa.