Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be shaped by smaller, efficient models rather than extremely large systems. He made these remarks during a private media interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

 

The Minister noted that nearly 95 per cent of AI work globally is currently handled by small models, a trend that underpins India’s strategy of developing affordable and application-focused AI solutions. Mr Vaishnaw said the 12 AI models being built in India, ranging from 50 billion to 120 billion parameters, are capable of meeting the AI needs of enterprises across sectors.

 

 

Mr Vaishnaw outlined India’s progress across the AI value chain, including model development, semiconductor manufacturing, infrastructure and energy. He said the country’s semiconductor programme has advanced significantly, with construction underway at 10 plants, three of which have already begun pilot production. He noted that four more plants are expected to enter pilot and commercial production this year.

 

 

Highlighting emerging innovations such as sound-to-sound AI, Mr Vaishnaw said such innovations have the potential to redefine global AI applications. The Minister also expressed confidence that India would be among the leading innovators, pointing to the country’s vibrant startup ecosystem, which now includes over 2 lakh startups and ranks among the top three globally.