Privacy-driven, ethical AI is India’s path to global leadership: PM Modi

New Delhi, Jan 8: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has underscored the growing global relevance of Indian artificial intelligence startups, urging them to work towards global leadership while building ethical, transparent and privacy-driven AI solutions.

Chairing a roundtable with leading Indian AI startups ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 on Thursday, the Prime Minister said the world’s trust in India is the country’s biggest strength.

He stressed that Indian AI models must be ethical, unbiased and transparent, rooted firmly in data privacy principles, while also reflecting India’s diversity through local content and regional languages.

Highlighting the pivotal role of startups, Modi said AI entrepreneurs are the co-architects of India’s future and that the country has a unique opportunity to shape the global AI narrative by promoting affordable, inclusive and frugal innovation.

He called on startups to develop AI solutions that are distinctly Indian in character yet globally relevant, echoing the vision of “Made in India, made for the world”.

As many as 12 Indian AI startups that have qualified for the ‘AI for All: Global Impact Challenge’ participated in the discussion, showcasing innovations across a wide spectrum.

These include Indian language foundation models, multilingual large language models, speech-to-text and text-to-video tools, generative AI for 3D content in e-commerce and marketing, advanced engineering simulations, material research, analytics-driven decision-making, and healthcare diagnostics.

During the interaction, the Prime Minister emphasised the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in society and noted that India’s hosting of the India AI Impact Summit next month would further cement the country’s position on the global technology map.

Startup leaders attending the roundtable welcomed the Centre’s strong push to build a robust AI ecosystem, noting that the centre of gravity of AI innovation and deployment is increasingly shifting towards India.

They said the country now offers an enabling environment for AI development, firmly placing Indian startups in the global spotlight.

The meeting was attended by CEOs and senior representatives of prominent AI startups including Avataar, BharatGen, Fractal, Gan, Genloop, Gnani, Intellihealth, Sarvam, Shodh AI, Soket AI, Tech Mahindra and Zenteiq.

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State Jitin Prasada were also present at the meeting.

PTI