New Delhi: Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Thursday highlighted the government’s renewed focus on research and talent development under the IndiaAI initiative, stressing that the country must view the ongoing tech transition as an opportunity rather than a disruption.

Speaking at the ‘IndiaAI – Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India’ programme, Vaishnaw announced that the government is planning to launch a dedicated PhD programme to support foundational research in Artificial Intelligence. “We are working on a PhD programme so that the foundational research in AI can also be funded out of the AI mission,” he said.
 

The Minister also revealed plans for a large-scale talent development programme that will span from basic to advanced levels. “A large talent development programme starting from basic to advanced level [is being planned], to complete the ecosystem, as per the AI mission,” Vaishnaw noted.

Emphasising the scale and impact of this technological shift, he added, “These changes will bring new opportunities for us, and the IT industry will go through a major transition period. We should capture this transition as an opportunity rather than getting disrupted by it, because whenever such a large technological change happens, it's very important that the industry, the government and the talent development ecosystem should all work together to make sure that we get prepared for the changing times.”

The IndiaAI initiative is a flagship mission by the Indian government aimed at fostering AI innovation, boosting research capabilities, and ensuring India remains a key player in the global AI ecosystem.