Indian IT industry shifting from software to AI solutions, says Vaishnaw
Ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026, Ashwini Vaishnaw said India's IT industry is moving from software to AI, re-skilling employees and training students nationwide
 "Indian IT industry shifting from software to AI solutions, says Vaishnaw")
India’s IT sector is rapidly moving from traditional software development to AI-driven solutions, Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.
“The strength that our IT industry has had over several decades, that strength is being put to providing AI solutions, rather than the old model of having software development,” Vaishnaw said.
Speaking ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, scheduled from February 16 to 20, Vaishnaw said that India has already attracted $70 billion in AI-related investment, and this figure could double by the end of the summit.
Describing the summit, Vaishnaw said, “The AI impact summit is the fourth and the biggest AI summit globally.” He noted that India has developed its AI ecosystem systematically, making the country a key player in global AI development.
The minister said that IT companies are now re-skilling employees, re-engaging with clients, and exploring new market opportunities.
Focus on deployment and productivity
He stressed that the real benefits of AI will come from deployment, improved productivity and efficiency. “The real value will come from the deployment of AI, getting productivity and efficiency gains," he said.
Vaishnaw also revealed that sovereign AI models developed in India will be launched at the summit. “A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with the teams which are developing our stack of sovereign models. We will be launching these models in the AI Impact Summit,” he said.
On energy, Vaishnaw noted India’s sustainable power infrastructure. “Around 50 per cent of our power generation capacity is green power, and this is being noticed by the world,” he said.
Vaishnaw further said that over 500,000 students have already gained AI skills. “We will provide AI infra and course curriculum in 500 universities, where students can get better training on AI opportunities,” he added.
He linked India’s AI push to the government’s broader philosophy of making technology accessible. “This is a democratisation of technology approach... whether it is UPI, DigiLocker, CoWin or 5G rollout, these programmes showcase the philosophy of democratisation of technology,” Vaishnaw said.