JanAI for All | Bridging the digital divide with indigenous AI

India will host the Global AI Action Summit in February, and should pledge mass AI adoption as the cornerstone of its vision.

At the inaugural Global AI Action Summit in Paris, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised human agency in AI development: "No one holds the key to our shared destiny other than us humans,” he said. Indeed, he and many of his Union Cabinet colleagues, like Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and MEITY Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, have spoken about how artificial intelligence (AI) should be treated as a digital public infrastructure good to improve the standards of governance and the quality of life of citizens.

Ahead of the next summit, to be hosted by New Delhi in February, let us delve deeper into what this entails and how exactly it can be done.

India’s overarching principle should be ‘JanAI’, which is centred on the belief that while generative AI will continue to be developed by our start-ups, what India also needs more of is AI for the masses or ‘JanAI’.

For AI to be deployed to benefit the lives of not just the urban elite, but also the economically-deprived and underserved communities, it should meet four criteria: Accessibility, Affordability, Indigenous, and Safe.

Accessibility, in that it should be available to all citizens, not just tech-savvy elites; Affordability, in that it should be priced within reach of the masses; Indigenous, in that it should be developed within India with local solutions; and, Safe, in that it should be built with safety and security as core principles.

AI for Bharat

The message from India at the next AI Action Summit should be unequivocal: India stands at a global inflection point and is ready to lead the world in inclusive, people-powered AI. We have a window of opportunity to showcase how AI and deep tech can uplift not just cities, but our villages and smaller towns — the true soul of India.

Focus can be on a ‘Jan AI Grameen Udaan’ — a flagship mission to embed AI in rural employment, skilling, and entrepreneurship. This mission should aim to create, by 2030, 100 AI-powered livelihood districts, 10,000 AI-enabled enterprise villages and a recognition and co-creation platform for millions of rural youth.

It can be guided by youth aspirations at the centre of the design. AI-powered tools can democratise access to market insights, loan evaluation, customer engagement, and e-commerce capabilities for rural and micro-entrepreneurs, lowering traditional barriers like a lack of formal credit, weak infrastructure, and limited market reach.

AI for public health and education

India has only 1.03 doctors per 1,000 people and pupil-teacher ratios of 26:1 at the primary level. Rural areas see a wider gap than urban centres, creating significant access barriers to healthcare and quality education. Here, AI can be used as a ‘Force Multiplier’ and can bridge these gaps by handling routine tasks and extending professional reach. AI-powered diagnostic tools can perform basic health screenings, analyse medical imaging, and provide preliminary assessments, allowing doctors to focus on complex cases. In rural clinics, AI chatbots can offer immediate medical guidance and triage patients effectively.

Similarly, AI tutoring systems can provide personalised learning experiences, reducing teacher workload while improving educational outcomes. AI can grade assignments, identify learning gaps, and deliver customised content to students at different proficiency levels. Doctors and teachers must be trained in AI tools to maximise efficiency and improve service delivery. AI-literate healthcare professionals can leverage predictive analytics for early disease detection and treatment optimisation, while educators can create adaptive learning environments and use data-driven insights to enhance student performance.

This technological integration isn't about replacement — it's about amplification, enabling fewer professionals to serve more people effectively while maintaining quality standards. This should be implemented in India and then taken to fellow nations in the Global South.

AI for better governance

Many departments of the Union government have already taken the lead in AI initiatives, to provide more efficient, citizen-centric services. For example, the CBIC and the CBDT have both deployed AI to identify fraudulent tax filings or tax evasion cases, significantly reducing evasion and streamlining revenue collection. Even the judiciary is embracing digital transformation, with the Supreme Court using AI-ML tools to transcribe oral arguments during constitution bench hearings and translate judgments into 18 Indian languages, addressing the massive case backlog more efficiently. Urban infrastructure management is witnessing remarkable improvements, with many cities deploying AI-driven traffic control systems.

The time is now to expand this on a mission-mode basis. AI can be used for everything from the distribution of direct benefit transfers to waste management and urban transportation management to the transportation and storage of crops. AI will improve the efficiency of governance and reduce leakages in the system. Perhaps the Union and state governments should aim at training all their officers and staff in AI by 2030.

India took the lead and positioned itself as the voice of the Global South when it chaired the G20 meetings. The AI summit is another golden opportunity for India to position itself. The Centre must take up the cause of inclusive JanAI to improve the lives and livelihoods of more than a billion Indians, and that India will inspire other nations, just like UPI has done.

Madan Padaki is Managing Trustee, and Arup Roychoudhury is Policy Advisor, at Head Held High Foundation. Twitter: @madanpadaki, @aruproytweets

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are of the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH.)