India Must Prevent AI Divide from Widening, Says Scindia
Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia warns against an AI divide and highlights India's massive GPU expansion and AI for Good Lab initiative.
Union Minister for Communications, Jyotiraditya Scindia, has issued a clarion call to ensure that the rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) does not create a new layer of inequality. Speaking at the 10th edition of the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, Scindia emphasized that technology must act as a tool for inclusion, bridging gaps rather than widening them.
Inaugurating the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) AI for Good Lab workshop, the Minister warned that the digital divide seen over the last two decades must not evolve into an "AI divide" in the coming years. He stressed that the true success of AI should not be measured by the complexity of its algorithms, but by its real-world impact on the lives of ordinary citizens.
Technology as a Tool for the Common Man
Scindia highlighted that for AI to be truly successful, it must provide tangible benefits to those who need it most. He provided specific examples of how this technology should be integrated into the fabric of society:
- Agriculture: Helping farmers make more informed and better decisions.
- Healthcare: Enabling doctors to diagnose diseases with greater speed and accuracy.
- Education: Allowing teachers to reach and engage with students more effectively.
"The real test is whether it helps a farmer make a better decision, it enables a doctor to diagnose faster, it allows a teacher to reach a child more effectively," Scindia remarked, underscoring the need for responsible, secure, and accessible AI.
Scaling Up: India's Massive AI Infrastructure
To prevent exclusion, India is investing heavily in shared infrastructure. Under the ambitious USD 10 billion IndiaAI Mission, the government is working to democratize access to computing power and datasets.
The Minister revealed significant progress in hardware availability. Currently, more than 38,000 high-end graphics processing units (GPUs) have been onboarded at a rate of approximately Rs 65 per hour—which is nearly one-third of the global average cost. Furthermore, an additional 20,000 GPUs are set to be added to the ecosystem to bolster computing capabilities.
This push is supported by India's robust digital foundation, which now includes 1.1 billion broadband connections and 5G coverage spanning 99.9 per cent of the country's districts. Scindia also noted the growing prowess of Indian talent, mentioning that developers from the country contribute 5.2 per cent of open-source AI projects on GitHub that have at least 10 stars.
AI in Public Safety and Fraud Prevention
Beyond economic growth, Scindia detailed how digital tools and AI are being deployed to protect citizens from crime. Through the Sanchar Saathi initiative, the government has taken aggressive steps to secure the mobile ecosystem:
- Approximately 7.2 crore fraudulent or irregular mobile connections have been disconnected.
- More than 35 lakh lost or stolen handsets have been traced, with over 12 lakh successfully recovered.
- The Financial Fraud Risk Indicator is actively assisting banks and payment platforms in identifying suspicious numbers.
- To date, around 45 lakh bank accounts have been restricted, preventing potential fraud worth more than USD 500 million.
The AI for Good Lab and Global Cooperation
India is currently one of only 10 pilot countries participating in the AI for Good Lab initiative. This program will focus on critical areas such as AI readiness, policy formulation, skill development, and the creation of public AI infrastructure.
Concluding his address, Scindia called for enhanced international cooperation. He urged researchers to prioritize safety and fairness, ensuring that AI systems are rigorously tested before being deployed at scale. He reiterated that the ultimate metric for AI will not be Return on Investment (ROI) or model size, but the number of human lives it improves.