Union minister for electronics and IT recently launched the World Bank Group’s World Development Report 2026: “The Promise of Artificial Intelligence (AI)”, at an event organised by the IndiaAI Mission and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
The report found that AI can widen access to expertise, raise productivity and improve the delivery of services in developing economies, with AI-enabled tools already being deployed in medical screening, agricultural decision-making and education to extend scarce expertise to larger populations. The report emphasised that these gains depend on strong foundations, including reliable electricity and connectivity, computing infrastructure, quality data, skills, education systems and capable institutions.
The minister cited several examples of AI’s impact in India, including a 40 per cent rise in sugarcane yields with 30 per cent less water and fertiliser for farmers in Baramati, a 35 per cent improvement in tuberculosis detection through AI in healthcare, Gujarat’s AgriStack serving 500,000 farmers, and the Sarlaben AI livestock platform benefiting 30 million cattle.
The minister said that through the IndiaAI Mission, the government is building a comprehensive AI ecosystem across seven pillars, including compute capacity, the IndiaAI Innovation Centre for foundation models, dataset platforms, startup financing and safe AI. The “Safe and Trusted” AI pillar supports indigenous tools for responsible AI deployment, covering bias mitigation, algorithm auditing, explainable AI, privacy-preserving frameworks, deepfake detection and institutional safety governance.
Further, World Bank chief economist highlighted India’s AI-based monsoon forecasting model, noting that countries including Ethiopia are adopting India’s approach. Work is also under way on an AI talent mission to build human capabilities and support wider enterprise adoption and global south development goals.
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