India is a top AI power, not IMF’s ‘second grouping’: Ashwini Vaishnaw

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday rejected International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva’s characterisation of India as part of a “second grouping” of artificial intelligence (AI) powers, asserting that international assessments place the country among the world’s top AI-ready nations.

Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Vaishnaw questioned the basis of the IMF’s classification and pointed to findings by Stanford University that, he said, rank India third globally in AI preparedness.

“I don't know what the IMF criteria is but Stanford places India at 3rd in the world for AI preparedness. I don't think your classification is correct,” the Minister said, adding that India should be considered “clearly in the first group.”

Vaishnaw said India’s AI strategy is focused on building capabilities across what he described as “five layers in the AI architecture” — the application layer, model layer, chip layer, infrastructure layer and energy layer.

“We are working on all the five layers,” he said, noting that India is making “very good progress” across each of them. He linked this effort to India’s broader economic growth, describing it as the fastest-growing major economy.

Highlighting India’s emphasis on real-world deployment, the Minister said the country’s strength lies in developing and delivering AI applications for enterprises. “On the application layer, we will probably be the biggest supplier of services to the world,” he said, explaining that Indian companies work closely with businesses to understand their processes and deploy AI-based solutions.

Vaishnaw argued that returns from artificial intelligence adoption are driven more by practical use cases than by building extremely large models. “ROI doesn't come from creating a very large model,” he said, adding that most applications can be effectively addressed using models in the range of 20 to 50 billion parameters.

He said India is currently developing “a bouquet” of such models, which are already being deployed across sectors to improve productivity and efficiency. According to the Minister, the government’s focus is on ensuring widespread “diffusion” of AI across the economy.

The comments come ahead of an AI Summit that India is set to host next month, where New Delhi is expected to outline its approach to responsible and inclusive AI, while showcasing progress in domestic talent, adoption and sector-specific applications.

Reiterating India’s global standing, Vaishnaw cited international evaluations on AI readiness and talent. “Stanford places India as third in terms of AI penetration, in terms of AI preparedness, and in terms of AI talent... Actually on AI talent, it is number two,” he said, maintaining that the “second grouping” description does not reflect India’s current position.