 "Nvidia AI summit: Experts stress need for sovereign AI systems, strategies")
India should prioritise developing sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) systems and strategies to ensure national control over critical AI technologies and data, according to key industry and government leaders at the Nvidia AI summit held in Mumbai.
“Sovereignty is a lot of different things, but it is all about the domestic production of AI, the ability of a nation to have AI independence," said Shilpa Kolhatkar, global head of AI Nations business development, Nvidia.
The push for sovereign AI comes as countries globally face mounting challenges around data governance and the rapid evolution of AI technologies. Kolhatkar stressed the need for collaboration between industry, government, and academia to achieve this.
"Considering the geopolitical situation, gradually people are talking about data localisation, data sovereignty, and they are talking about cloud sovereignty. Not only is data localised in India, but they are talking about the machinery of data, which is cloud. Is it in our control? Is it truly following the laws of the land?" said Sunil Gupta, co-founder and CEO, Yotta Data Services.
Pramod Varma, chief architect of Aadhaar and UPI, echoed the importance of viewing data as an economic asset. "We are generating our digital footprints faster than ever, but the question is, does this data get locked in? Do they become oil to extract, or do they become soil to build life?"
The conversation also touched on AI’s integration into India’s digital infrastructure.
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Sharmishtha Dasgupta, deputy director general of the National Informatics Centre, stated that AI is transforming India’s e-governance landscape and reaching underserved communities. AI-powered bilingual support systems have simplified access to government schemes like PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, she said. Dasgupta mentioned that AI systems now handle "5 to 7 lakh queries every month, 24 by 7," helping millions of Indians access critical services.