100 Mn Indians Using Our Services Is Our Current Goal: IndiaAI Mission’s Abhishek Singh |
AI is expected to add $1.7 Tn to India’s economy by 2030, and the country is on course to transform into a global powerhouse for innovation in artificial intelligence within the next few years. And, at the wheel of this mighty growth engine sits the IndiaAI Mission, a government venture for its Digital India initiative.
With more than INR 10,300 Cr allocated for five years, around 38,000 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) deployed, and over 6 Mn people employed in the ecosystem, AI is front and centre for the Indian startup and tech economy.
“Of course, the AI revolution is in full swing, and a wider adoption of voice AI will propel it to the next level,” affirmed Abhishek Singh, the CEO of the government-backed AI development body.
Inc42 reached out to Singh for an insight into the AI ecosystem as the IndiaAI Mission entered a decisive phase. After laying down policy frameworks and institutional structures, the mission has moved firmly from design to execution. Compute infrastructure is being deployed at scale, domestic foundation models are under development, datasets are expanding rapidly, and early applications across public services are beginning to take shape and expand.
As the government positions AI as a state-led public infrastructure, the Union Budget 2026 proposed to deploy AI across agriculture, logistics, and social inclusion to enhance efficiency and also suggested a national committee to oversee the evolving landscape. This top-down strategy integrates platforms like Bharat VISTAAR, framing the public infrastructure as the primary architect of India’s emerging digital and social ecosystem.
While the scope of the mission spans models, platforms, and startup enablement, that success may not be judged by infrastructure alone. The real measure lies in adoption and impact, particularly in citizen-facing services such as healthcare, agriculture, and education.
The goal is to see AI-powered systems reach population-scale usage, translating public investment in AI into tangible outcomes for millions of users across the country. And in this regard, Singh’s approach is akin to startup founders. He believes that if the Mission’s services reach less than 10% of the population, this can........