All major countries on board to sign AI Delhi declaration: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Details about New Delhi Declaration expected to be announced on Saturday

As the weeklong AI Impact Summit, which attracted mega investment commitments of over $250 billion, neared closure, the government announced that all major countries relevant to artificial intelligence developments have signed the New Delhi Declaration.

 

Briefing the media on Friday, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the details of the declaration would be made public on Saturday—the last day of the summit. “By the time the summit concludes tomorrow, we should have more than 80 signatories. There is a huge consensus on the declaration. We just want to maximise the numbers,” Vaishnaw said.

 

At the first global AI summit in Bletchley Park, UK, in 2023, several countries, including the US, China, and India, had signed a declaration agreeing to work together to jointly manage the risks from frontier AI models. The next two AI summits, in Seoul and Paris, respectively, shifted the focus to broader areas of safety, innovation, inclusivity, and sustainable AI. The AI Impact Summit, which began on February 16, will conclude on February 21, as the expo was extended by the government for a day. By Friday, the Summit had attracted over 500,000 visitors, Vaishnaw said.

   

During the summit, the government has received investment pledges of more than $250 billion for the infrastructure layer of the AI architecture, and about $20 billion in investment commitments from venture capitalists, the minister elaborated.

 

“The numbers are important, but what is more important is that the world has confidence in India’s role in the new AI age,” Vaishnaw said. 

 

Speaking about the AI models released during the summit, the minister said that industry leaders across the board were impressed by the quality of the output from these models, which had been built by Indian startups on frugal resources.

 

The government would start working on the second phase of the AI Mission, he said. Under the AI Mission 2.0, the government will aim to train 2 million people on skills needed to navigate AI.

 

“We are already discussing with the industry on the initiatives that need to be taken, especially on the course curriculum that needs to be included in schools and colleges,” Vaishnaw said. Inputs have also been taken from state governments.

 

On India’s formal joining of the Pax Silica initiative, Vaishnaw said it’s important from a resilience and supply chain perspective. “Whether in Europe, Australia, or the US, we (India) are seen as a trusted country,” he said.

 

On another development, Vaishnaw said the groundbreaking ceremony for the Rs 3,706 crore HCL-Foxconn Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) joint venture in Jewar (Uttar Pradesh) would be held on Saturday. Also, the Micron semiconductor facility in Sanand will start commercial production from February 28.