At India-AI Impact Summit, PM Modi Champions Open-Source AI, Global Standards and ‘MANAV’ Vision
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday made a strong pitch for open, inclusive, and globally accountable artificial intelligence development, cautioning against treating AI as a closed strategic asset controlled by a handful of nations or corporations.
Speaking at the India-AI Impact Summit, the Prime Minister argued that the transformative potential of AI will truly benefit humanity only when knowledge, code,e and innovation are widely shared.
His remarks came a day after White House Policy Advisor on AI Sriram Krishnan stated that the United States expects its partners, including India, to build AI solutions on top of the American AI technology stack — a position that underscores the growing geopolitical competition surrounding artificial intelligence.
Call for Open-Source and Shared Innovation
Without naming any country directly, PM Modi said that some governments and companies prefer to develop AI capabilities “confidentially,” viewing them as strategic assets. India, he asserted, takes a different approach.
According to the Prime Minister, open-source systems and collaborative innovation allow millions of young developers and researchers worldwide to refine AI models, making them safer, more transparent, and more effective.
He described AI as a “global common good” that must be shaped through shared responsibility rather than technological monopolies.
Government officials indicated that affordability and broad access will be central to India’s AI policy push — positioning it as an alternative to the Western model where AI research and deployment are often concentrated among a few dominant firms.
Deepfakes, Safety, and Global Standards
A significant portion of the Prime Minister’s address focused on the urgent need for global norms to tackle risks associated with AI-generated misinformation.
Drawing a comparison with food nutrition labels, PM Modi proposed that digital content should carry authenticity markers to help users distinguish between real and AI-generated material.
He called for watermarking standards and source transparency mechanisms to counter deepfakes and fabricated media, which he described as destabilising forces in open societies.
The Prime Minister stressed that safety features must be embedded at the design stage, not added as afterthoughts, especially as AI tools increasingly generate text, images, es and video content at scale.
India’s ‘MANAV’ Vision for AI
PM Modi outlined India’s “MANAV” (human-centric) framework for AI governance, which rests on several principles:
- Ethical and moral AI systems
- Inclusivity and accessibility
- Accountable governance structures
- Protection of national sovereignty
- Lawful and responsible use of AI technologies
He said this framework aims to ensure that innovation is balanced with safeguards, while empowering citizens and protecting democratic values.
Global Leaders in Attendance
The summit drew prominent world leaders and technology executives, including:
- French President Emmanuel Macron
- Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
- Google CEO Sundar Pichai
- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman
- Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei
Their presence underscored India’s growing centrality in global AI discussions.
Economic Opportunity and Skilling Push
Emphasising AI’s economic potential, PM Modi rejected narratives of fear surrounding automation. Instead, he argued that AI will create higher-value, creative, and meaningful employment opportunities.
He highlighted the need for large-scale skilling, reskilling, and upskilling initiatives to prepare India’s workforce for an AI-driven economy.
According to the Prime Minister, India’s strong IT backbone, expanding semiconductor ambitions, investments in quantum computing, secure data infrastructure,e and thriving startup ecosystem position the country as a natural hub for affordable and scalable AI solutions.
“Any AI model that succeeds in India can be deployed globally,” he said, emphasising India’s diverse data landscape and market scale as testing grounds for globally adaptable solutions.
Child Safety and Responsible Digital Spaces
Addressing concerns about AI’s societal impact, PM Modi underlined the importance of child-safe digital ecosystems.
Just as school curricula are curated carefully, he said, AI platforms must be guided to protect young users and families from harmful or misleading content.
Concluding his address, the Prime Minister remarked that while some see AI as a source of anxiety, India sees it as a vehicle for growth and opportunity — driven by talent, policy clarity, and energy capacity.
The India-AI Impact Summit thus positioned the country not only as a fast-growing AI market, but also as a voice advocating for open innovation, shared governance,ce and ethical guardrails in the rapidly evolving global AI landscape.
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