AI, education, policy alignment key to India’s $30 trillion goal, say experts at Bengaluru event

Bengaluru: India's ambition to become a $30 trillion economy by 2047 will hinge on how well artificial intelligence (AI) is integrated with education, governance and industry, speakers said at a pre-buildathon collective intelligence session organised by Bharat1.ai.At the event titled ‘How does India leverage AI and its demographic dividend to become an inclusive $30 trillion economy by 2047?', the focus remained on structural gaps that could determine whether AI-led growth translates into broad-based economic gains.Srikanth Nadhamuni, co-founder and CEO of Khosla labs (startup incubator) and founder CTO of UIDAI placed primary education at the centre of the AI conversation. While acknowledging India's strides in higher education, he flagged deep concerns at the foundational level. "India's demographic dividend would mean nothing if our foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) is poor," he said, pointing to weak outcomes in govt schools, especially in rural areas.Building on the need for systemic reform, former department of science and technology (DST) secretary Ashutosh Sharma, said, "We need a science and technology wing in every govt department. Decentralising technology and developing India-centric AI is essential." Bharat1.ai co-founder, Subhashis Banerjee highlighted a disconnect between India's talent pool and its ability to convert that into market leadership, stressing the need to build globally competitive technology firms.Mohandas Pai underlined AI's immediate economic impact, particularly in improving efficiency. "AI increases productivity and speed of execution. It makes sure there is fidelity in transactions and optimises automation," he said, adding that it enhances overall productivity. However, he pointed to a deeper structural concern in India: "Agriculture doesn't pay, but 43% of our working-age population is employed there. Every country has to transition from agriculture to manufacturing to services. Our source of poverty and disparity is this.""Our govts are very happy giving subsidies without investing in education," Pai added, while former Union minister MJ Akbar placed the discussion within a global context, describing the current geopolitical climate as one shaped by a ‘worldwide war'. "The challenge is to prepare for an international war economy. Governance in its pristine form should be reduced to just two responsibilities: stability and security," Akbar said, while calling for an end to what he described as bureaucratic ‘masterly inactivity'.Bharat1.ai co-founders Umakant Soni and Sireesh Kupendra, Lt Gen Arun Ananthanarayan (retd), and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) chairperson S Ramann were among the other speakers who addressed around 50 industry leaders, including startup founders, academicians and investors.
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