UPI for AI: India offers 'bouquet of trusted solutions' to world

NEW DELHI: The Centre spelt out an ambitious vision for artificial intelligence that borrows directly from one of India's biggest digital success stories - UPI.The idea, officials said, is to offer the world a "bouquet of trusted AI solutions": A shared, reliable digital backbone that countries and companies can build on, without being locked into proprietary platforms or paying royalties to a few dominant players. Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday India wants to shape how AI is developed and governed globally by balancing innovation with accountability, using its own "techno-legal" approach rather than copying the EU's regulation-heavy framework or the US's market-driven model.Explaining the UPI parallel, Vaishnaw said India's strength lies in building frugal, low-cost engineering solutions that work at scale and can be shared as global public goods. "We will be creating a bouquet of solutions, which have been tested on security and all possible parameters, and then we will present the same to the world for use and to build on," he said.Just as UPI was offered globally, India intends to share its AI capabilities in a similar spirit. "We are not asking for any royalty or licence fee. We have given it as a common core," the minister said, adding several countries have already shown interest in adopting digital frameworks similar to India's.Vaishnaw said that this approach also defines sovereign AI, which he clarified does not mean cutting off global collaboration. "Sovereign AI means having our own models, infrastructure, and ability to take solutions to a large number of people without remaining dependent on anybody else's approval," the minister said.The push comes amid global anxiety over AI - from job losses and volatile tech markets to fears of monopolisation by big tech firms."A good consensus is emerging among global leaders that AI should be used for good and all harmful impacts should be contained," he said.To address workforce concerns, the minister said the govt is working on three tracks simultaneously: Reskilling the existing workforce, creating new talent pipelines, and updating education curricula. "All three things are happening in parallel," the minister said.India is also scaling up its AI infrastructure, with plans to add 20,000 GPUs over the next six months to its common compute facility to support startups, researchers and students.