Nandan Nilekani, renowned as the architect of Aadhaar and the cofounder-cum-chairman of Infosys, has articulated India’s distinctive approach to artificial intelligence (AI), emphasizing a focus on deploying AI use-cases that benefit every citizen rather than engaging in a race to develop Large Language Models (LLMs). He envisions India as the leading hub for AI application demonstrations, referred to as “Adbhut” India.
Speaking at an event organized by People+AI in Bengaluru on May 7, Nilekani underscored India’s divergence from the global trend of prioritizing the development of LLMs. He emphasized the nation’s commitment to democratizing technology and ensuring its accessibility to all segments of society. Nilekani’s remarks reflect a strategic shift towards leveraging existing technologies to address the diverse challenges faced by India’s vast population.
The event, themed ‘Making an Adbhut India’ , served as the platform for People+AI, an initiative of the EkStep Foundation, to unveil its Open Cloud Compute (OCC) project. The OCC initiative aims to establish an open network for compute resources, catering to the growing demand for AI infrastructure. Nilekani’s advocacy for utilizing available technology aligns with the OCC project’s objective of democratizing access to computing resources.
In advocating for the adoption of population-scale AI solutions, Nilekani emphasized the urgency of leveraging existing technologies to address India’s societal challenges. His stance underscores the imperative for startups, government agencies, and the private sector to prioritize experimentation and scale deployment to drive widespread adoption and application of AI solutions.
Moreover, Nilekani criticized the apprehensions raised by some AI enthusiasts and companies regarding the potential negative impacts of AI, labeling them as protectionist sentiments aimed at monopolizing the AI landscape. He reiterated India’s commitment to fostering an open and collaborative ecosystem conducive to innovation and equitable access to AI technologies.
Pramod Verma, the chief technology officer of EkStep Foundation, elaborated on the OCC project’s vision, highlighting its objective of facilitating collaboration among diverse stakeholders to harness micro-computing resources effectively. The initiative aims to streamline resource allocation and enhance interoperability to support the seamless execution of AI projects.
The event also witnessed the unveiling of Sesame by fintech company Setu, touted as India’s first LLM tailored for the banking, financial services, and insurance sector. Developed in collaboration with indigenous AI research firm Sarvam AI, Sesame represents a significant milestone in the integration of AI into the financial services domain, heralding a transformative “ChatGPT Moment”.
Furthermore, the event showcased DRiefcase, a personal health records app developed under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which demonstrated the application of AI frameworks to collect qualitative feedback from patients. The initiative aims to enhance patient experiences and optimize hospital workflows through data-driven insights derived from AI technologies.
STAGE, an entertainment platform catering to regional cultures, introduced India’s first Haryanvi-dialect based AI voice agent, underscoring the potential of AI to bridge linguistic divides and cater to diverse linguistic communities. The presentation highlighted the role of AI in preserving and promoting regional cultures while fostering inclusive digital experiences.
Additionally, Fynd launched BharatDiffusion v2, an AI model designed to create culturally relevant images reflecting India’s diverse heritage. Leveraging machine learning algorithms trained on a vast collection of Indian photos, BharatDiffusion v2 aims to produce authentic and high-quality images that resonate with Indian audiences.
Another notable highlight of the event was the unveiling of “JOHNAIC”, a personal AI server developed by Von Neumann AI. Positioned as a cost-effective alternative to cloud-based AI solutions, JOHNAIC promises to reduce AI deployment costs by 85 percent while offering integrated SaaS and AI tools tailored for SMEs and startups. People+AI announced its adoption of JOHNAIC to meet its AI infrastructure requirements while safeguarding data privacy.
