AI infra sees $70-bn investment, says Ashwini Vaishnaw ahead of summit

Nearly $70 billion was already being pumped into India’s artificial intelligence sector, announced Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the AI Impact Summit, Vaishnaw said the momentum could see this figure double by the conclusion of the event, scheduled to be held from February 16-20 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.

This is the first time this summit series is being hosted in the Global South. The Summit week will feature around 500 curated events across Bharat Mandapam and Sushma Swaraj Bhawan, enabling parallel leader-level dialogues, exhibitions, and outcome-oriented sessions.

The AI Impact Expo will host 840 exhibitors, including Country Pavilions, Ministries, State Governments, Industry, Startups, and Research Institutions, showcasing AI solutions with proven real-world impact.

The conference confirmed participation of 15 heads of statea nd Government, over 40 ministers, more than 100 leading CEOs and CXOs, and more than 100 eminent academics. Industry engagement has emerged as a cornerstone of the Summit. Industry partners including Jio, Qualcomm, OpenAI, Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, Adobe, and the Gates Foundation are expected to join the summit.

The government is also ramping up AI talent development, with plans to extend industry-approved curricula and state-of-the-art infrastructure to 500 universities, fostering a robust talent pipeline for the growing sector.

The minister said that India’s IT sector was rapidly evolving to embrace artificial intelligence, marking a shift from traditional software development to AI-driven solutions.

Vaishnaw also praised the country’s IT majors for their proactive approach in reskilling their workforce to meet the demands of this new era. “The industry is not only rediscovering its customer base, but also re-engaging with markets through innovative AI solutions,” he added.

Recalling PM Narendra Modi’s meeting with IT leaders, Vaishnaw said teams working with AI applications had shared that they have developed over 200 AI models, each tailored to address unique challenges of specific sectors. Vaishnaw emphasised that the true value of AI remained in its ability to drive productivity and efficiency. “This focused, sector-specific approach to AI development is seen as a major step towards realising the transformative potential of the technology.”

The upcoming summit is a comprehensive summit with seven themes — AI for economic growth and social group, democratising AI resources, inclusion for social empowerment, safe and trusted AI, human capital, science and resilience in innovation and efficiency.

Vaishnaw further said that India’s energy sector was receiving global recognition for the strength and diversity of its power grid and the country’s rapid progress in green energy adoption over the past decade. “The investments made in the power grid over the last 10 years are being noticed worldwide,” the minister said, adding that nearly 50 percent of India’s power generation capacity now comes from green energy sources.