India has declared its ambition to be a global leader in Artificial Intelligence (AI) governance. As the world’s largest democracy and a tech-savvy nation, it is well-positioned to champion an inclusive and human-centric approach to AI. But this aspiration risks being undermined by the absence of a comprehensive, democratically anchored national AI strategy.
India’s current AI initiatives centre on the IndiaAI Mission, led by a bureaucrat and housed as an independent unit within a Section 8 company under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The Mission cannot substitute for a national strategy. Missions are vehicles for executing priorities, but only after priorities have been clearly defined.
In India’s approach to AI, fundamental questions remain unresolved. What are our national priorities? Which governance values should guide us? How should institutions be structured? Moving forward without answering these questions poses two risks: it may compromise India’s ability to lead and maintain strategic autonomy; and it may embed an AI governance model that is technocratic, opaque, and lacking democratic legitimacy.
The many risks
This is not an abstract concern. Several pressing risks are already visible. AI technologies are becoming increasingly embedded in India’s defence, intelligence, and critical infrastructure systems. Recent developments — military conflict, weaponisation of financial infrastructure, strategic technology competition — have demonstrated how technological dependencies can be leveraged to achieve geopolitical objectives. Without an indigenous, coordinated AI strategy, India faces the risk of strategic dependencies on foreign technologies. Safeguarding India’s strategic autonomy requires developing a whole-of-government AI strategy aligned with national security priorities and focused on building resilient, sovereign capabilities.
Data is the raw material of AI. As India builds public data platforms, how this data is curated, accessed, and governed will shape innovation and market power. Without transparent, democratically debated data governance frameworks, these ecosystems risk reinforcing corporate concentration and undermining public trust.
Nowhere is the governance gap clearer than in employment. Automation is already transforming India’s labour market. In 2024 alone, India’s top three IT services firms — TCS, Infosys, and Wipro — shed nearly 65,000 jobs. The International Monetary Fund estimates that 26% of India’s workforce is exposed to generative AI, with 12% at risk of displacement. Despite this, national AI initiatives do not sufficiently address employment transition, workforce planning, or social protections. The absence of structured input from labour economists, civil society, and workforce experts has limited the ambit of deliberation to technocratic concerns. Addressing these gaps will help ensure that AI adoption supports economic resilience and social stability.
AI is extraordinarily energy-hungry. The International Energy Agency projects that global data centre electricity demand will double by 2030. This poses challenges for India. Eleven of India’s 20 largest cities face acute water stress. Groundwater levels are rapidly declining in Bengaluru and Hyderabad — both emerging AI and data centre hubs. Yet policy discussions on AI in India have scarcely addressed the energy implications of scaling AI.
AI will profoundly reshape work, education, and the social contract. It will determine which skills are valued, influence how citizens are trained, and shape who benefits from economic gains. These shifts cannot be left to market forces or technical experts. They demand national dialogue involving industry leaders, parliamentarians, educators, civil society, and labour representatives, to chart a just and equitable path forward.
As AI gets integrated in sensitive domains — healthcare, policing, welfare — the risks of bias, discrimination, and lost accountability grow. Without clear regulatory frameworks, public trust in AI governance may erode.
India has rightly positioned itself as a voice for the Global South in international AI governance forums, notably through its leadership in the Global Partnership on AI. But global credibility depends on coherence at home. Without a transparent, democratically grounded national strategy, India’s ability to shape global AI norms will remain constrained.
Strategy must precede mission. Harnessing AI for national leadership and public good requires proactive, strategic, and coordinated governance. Managing this transition demands inclusive, forward-looking, and democratically accountable governance anchored in a national strategy shaped through open public deliberation.
What is the path forward?
First, India needs to publish a Cabinet-endorsed national AI strategy and present it to Parliament. Second, it must constitute a dedicated Standing Committee on AI and Emerging Technologies in Parliament to oversee executive initiatives, ethical risks, and public consultations. Third, it needs to commission a national impact study on AI-driven employment disruption, particularly in entry-level white-collar roles, with granular data on sectors, demographics, and regions.
Taking the time to build democratic consensus and institutional architecture is a difficult road to take, but it will make India a genuine AI leader.
Ruchi Gupta, Executive Editor of the Future of India Foundation and an Aspen Global Leadership Fellow.
Published – July 03, 2025 01:51 am IST
