India must build transparent, unbiased AI rooted in local data: PM Modi
Chairing a roundtable with Indian AI startups ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, PM Modi suggested that the startups should work towards global leadership from this country, and noted that India can promote affordable and inclusive AI and frugal innovation globally.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said the world's trust in India is its biggest strength and emphasised the need to ensure that Indian Artificial Intelligence (AI) models are ethical, unbiased, transparent, and based on data privacy principles.
He also said the Indian AI models should be distinct and should promote local and indigenous content and regional languages.
Chairing a roundtable with Indian AI startups ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Modi suggested that the startups should work towards global leadership from this country, and noted that India can promote affordable and inclusive AI, and frugal innovation globally, an official statement said.
The prime minister said startups and artificial intelligence entrepreneurs are the co-architects of the country's future.
As many as 12 Indian AI startups that have qualified for the 'AI for ALL: Global Impact Challenge' summit to be held next month attended the roundtable and presented their ideas and work.
Later, in a post on 'X', Modi said he talked about AI with youngsters from the Indian startup world.
"It was a memorable and insightful interaction, in which they shared their vision and work on how India is transforming the world of AI. It is commendable how these startups are working on diverse fields such as e-commerce, marketing, engineering simulations, material research, healthcare, medical research and more," he said.
The prime minister said they discussed how AI can be leveraged to further societal good.
"Reiterated our government's support to all those working on AI so that we can strengthen the spirit of 'Made in India, Made for the World'. Stressed on making AI affordable, inclusive and transparent," he added.
During the meeting, Modi highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence in bringing about transformation in society. He noted that India will host the India AI Impact summit next month, through which the country will play a major role in the technology sector.
The prime minister highlighted that India is making efforts to bring about a transformation by leveraging AI, and the country has immense capacity for both innovation and large-scale implementation.
India should present a unique AI model to the world that reflects the spirit of 'Made in India, Made for the World', Modi said.
These startups are working in a diverse set of areas, including Indian language foundation models, multilingual LLMs, speech-to-text, text-to-audio and text-to-video; 3D content using generative AI for e-commerce, marketing, and personalised content creation; engineering simulations, material research and advanced analytics for data-driven decision-making across industries; and healthcare diagnostics and medical research.
The AI startups commended India's strong commitment to advancing the artificial intelligence ecosystem in the country. They highlighted the rapid growth and vast future potential of the AI sector, observing that the centre of gravity of artificial intelligence innovation and deployment is beginning to shift towards India.
The leaders said India now offers a robust and enabling environment for AI development, firmly placing the country on the global AI map.
The meeting was attended by CEOs, heads and representatives of Indian AI startups, including Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, Gan, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra and Zenteiq.
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present in the meeting.