Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indian AI startups to develop ethical, transparent models rooted in local data, privacy principles, and regional languages during a recent roundtable. He emphasized creating a distinctive "Made in India, Made for the World" AI framework to drive global leadership through affordable and inclusive innovation. This comes ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a roundtable with 12 leading Indian AI startups at his residence on January 8, 2026, ahead of the India AI Impact Summit. The startups, selected under the IndiaAI Mission's foundation models pillar, showcased work in areas like multilingual LLMs, generative AI for 3D content, healthcare diagnostics, and engineering simulations. Modi highlighted AI's transformative potential for society and positioned startups as co-architects of India's future.
Key Highlights
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12 startups including Avataar, BharatGen, Sarvam AI, and Tech Mahindra presented innovations tailored to India's context.
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India's global trust serves as a key strength for advancing ethical AI worldwide.
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Focus on "Made in India, Made for the World" to promote frugal, inclusive solutions.
Core Messages
Modi stressed that Indian AI must be ethical, unbiased, transparent, and anchored in robust data privacy. He called for models reflecting indigenous content and regional languages to ensure cultural relevance and accessibility. Startups noted India's shifting role as a global AI hub with enabling infrastructure.
Strategic Implications
Government assured full support for AI scaling; event underscores push for sovereign AI amid rapid sector growth.
Sources: Press Information Bureau (PIB), YourStory, News18, Hindustan Times