India’s AI-led development innovations take centre stage at fifth India Day @ UNGA
New York, Sept. 29 (TNT): India’s artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, digital public infrastructure and inclusive development models came into focus at the fifth edition of India Day @ UNGA, organised by Reliance Foundation, the United Nations in India and the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) during the week of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
Held on September 24 in New York, the event brought together government representatives, multilateral institutions, civil society organisations and private-sector stakeholders to discuss how India’s development innovations could be adapted and scaled across the Global South and beyond, the Foundations said in a release on Tuesday.
The discussions focused on AI, digital public infrastructure, women-led development, healthcare and inclusive growth, with an emphasis on strengthening international cooperation to accelerate progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
A high-level ministerial session, titled ‘Ruptures & Ramparts: Building Bridges for a Changing World’, examined how geopolitical tensions, climate challenges and technological disruption were reshaping global development cooperation.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Kamina Johnson Smith, Suriname’s Foreign Affairs, International Business and Cooperation Minister Melvin Bouva, and East-West Center President and Chief Executive Celeste Connors participated in the discussion.
Jaishankar highlighted the role of multilateral institutions and cooperation, noting that issues such as sustainability and international collaboration remained central to the United Nations’ agenda.
Ablakwa called for equal partnerships in global development, urging countries to engage with one another in ways that allowed them to secure mutually beneficial outcomes.
Addressing the gathering, Rohit Kansal, Secretary in the Department of Rural Development, said India’s development experience demonstrated the importance of building infrastructure that enabled access at population scale.
He emphasised that AI should adapt to human languages and needs rather than requiring people to learn the language of technology.
Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, stressed the need to combine infrastructure with AI and digital technologies to improve healthcare delivery.
Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, highlighted the potential of AI to improve energy infrastructure resilience and enhance the efficiency of power distribution companies.
B Srinivasan, Executive Lead at Reliance Foundation, said addressing complex development challenges required international cooperation, collaboration and a greater emphasis on human welfare.
United Nations Resident Coordinator in India Stefan Priesner said India’s development solutions could contribute to global progress if adapted and shared with other countries.
Vishal Harsh, Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of India, said solutions developed at scale in India could support development across the Global South, particularly when they reached underserved communities.
Samir Saran, President of ORF, said the event sought to explore how technology, innovation, philanthropy and international institutions could work together to improve human welfare.
Four thematic sessions examined development beyond 2030, health and opportunities for women, children and youth, the deployment of AI at population scale, and governance frameworks for responsible AI adoption.
The sessions explored the use of AI across languages, sectors and public service delivery systems, alongside issues relating to data governance, regulation and institutional capacity.
The event also saw the launch of When Silicon Meets the Soil: India’s AI Revolution, the fifth publication in the India Day @ UNGA series. The publication examines India’s experience in deploying AI through 18 chapters.
The organisers said India Day @ UNGA aimed to promote international partnerships and share development models that could support inclusive growth and advance the global sustainable development agenda.
TNT KM
