India in same group as US, China in AI development: Ashwini Vaishnaw

India belongs in the same group as the United States and China when it comes to leading research and development (R&D) in the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, as the country is working simultaneously on all five layers of the AI architecture, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said. 

Vaishnaw’s response was to a question by a panel that alluded to a comment made by International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director (MD) Kristalina Georgieva. 

Georgieva had said that the US and China were in one group when it came to AI development, whereas India and other countries were in the second group. 

 

India, Vaishnaw said, had been ranked third in Stanford’s AI preparedness and penetration rankings and second in the AI talent base rankings. 

Speaking at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Vaishnaw said India was working on the applications in AI, AI models, the chips that run these models, the data centre which hosts them, and the energy that will power the AI infrastructure. “On the application layer, we will probably be the biggest supplier of services to the world. Go to an enterprise, understand their business and the working and then provide that service using AI applications. This is going to be the biggest factor of success or successful deployment of AI,” Vaishnaw said. 

The return on investment in various layers of AI will come from the application layer, not from cutting-edge large language models (LLMs) being developed by companies and countries. Nearly 95 per cent of the world’s work today can be completed successfully using models that run on 20 billion or 50 billion parameters, he said. 

He added that India already has a bouquet of such AI models being deployed across multiple sectors to increase productivity, efficiency, and effective use of technology. 

“Our focus is very much on ensuring that AI diffusion happens in a very big way,” he said. 

Karnataka holds investment talks with global firms 

The Karnataka government officials held a series of high-level meetings with global companies and institutions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, discussing investment opportunities spanning data centres, renewable energy, AI, manufacturing, water infrastructure, education and consumer goods, while assuring policy certainty and full facilitation. 

Bharti Enterprises has made cumulative investments of about ₹13,000 crore in Karnataka and expressed interest in setting up a data centre in the State, with discussions covering land availability, water supply and supporting infrastructure, state government officials said. 

 

Andhra CM moots Israeli industrial park 

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday proposed establishing an Israeli industrial park in the state during a meeting with the country’s representatives and diplomats at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. 

In the meeting with Nir Barkat, Minister for Economy and Industry, Israel, Roey Fisher, trade commissioner and Shir Slutzky, head of the Israel Economy and Trade Mission to Switzerland, the Chief Minister proposed that the industrial park could anchor Israeli firms. In addition to this proposal, Naidu also deliberated with the Israeli delegation on opportunities in defence, aerospace and UAV ecosystems. 

Adani Group unveils $66 billion Maharashtra investment plan 

The Adani Group on Wednesday outlined a $66 billion investment blueprint for Maharashtra, spanning aviation, clean energy, urban infrastructure, digital platforms and advanced manufacturing, as it positioned itself as a long-term partner in the state’s infrastructure-led growth agenda. 

Presenting its plans at the 56th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, the conglomerate said the portfolio reflects a shift towards building integrated, future-ready platforms aligned with India’s priorities on energy transition, ease of doing business and manufacturing self-reliance.   (PTI)