THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, DELHI
President, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Dr. Vinay Sahasra buddhe Ji,
Chairman, DICCI, Padam Shri Milind Kamble Ji,
Distinguished guests, academicians, industry leaders and members of the AI community
Artificial Intelligence today, occupies a unique position, in global discussions. Unlike many previous technology shifts, AI is not simply changing, how we work—it is beginning to influence, how decisions are made, how institutions respond, and how citizens interact, with systems around them.
Across countries, governments are experimenting with AI, to improve service delivery, increase efficiency, and, address challenges, that were earlier considered, too complex to manage, through traditional systems.
In India, this transition carries, particular significance, because it builds on a large, and evolving, digital eco-system. Over the last decade, India has developed, digital public infrastructure at scale, enabling identity, financial inclusion, welfare delivery, and service access, in ways that were not, previously possible. This has shifted governance, from being primarily process-driven, to increasingly platform-driven. AI represents, the next stage of that, evolution.
As India navigates, this transformation, the guiding principle articulated, by Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Ji, assumes particular importance. Speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, he observed: “AI must be human-centric, sensitive, and serve the welfare, of all humanity. As we discuss the future of AI, we must place the aspirations, and priorities of the Global South, at the center of AI governance.” This vision places people, trust, and public welfare, at the heart of, technology progress.
AI systems reflect, the data, assumptions, and design choices, on which they are built. In a country, as diverse as India, with its linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic variations, this becomes an important consideration. A system designed, in a uniform context elsewhere, cannot automatically respond, to India’s diversity. If AI is to be, meaningfully deployed here, it must address, the complexity of diversity, rather than, simplify it away.
The question of sovereignty, has also acquired, a new meaning. In earlier phases of technology, sovereignty was discussed largely, in terms of infrastructure, or data localisation. With AI, sovereignty is increasingly about, capability—the ability to develop, models, datasets, and computational frameworks, aligned with national requirements, and public policy priorities. While India benefits, from global collaboration, building foundational capacity, within the country, remains essential.
The governance dimension, is equally significant. In government systems, particularly urban administration, challenges often relate to, coordination, efficiency, and responsiveness. As systems become, more data-rich, AI can support, traffic management, infrastructure maintenance, environmental monitoring, grievance redressal, and service delivery. AI is already, finding application in several areas, of governance, helping improve decision-making, operational efficiency, and service delivery. As these capabilities mature, there is significant potential, to further harness AI, for making public services, more responsive, effective, and citizen-centric. In Delhi, with its layered responsibilities, AI can improve predictability, reduce delays, and enable, more efficient use of resources.
Every technology system, ultimately depends, on public confidence. That confidence, is shaped by transparency, safeguards around data usage, privacy protection, and accountability mechanisms. Without these, adoption will remain limited, and trust—once weakened—is difficult to restore.
The challenge before us, is not simply, to adopt AI, but to integrate, it in ways that, strengthen governance, preserve accountability, and remain sensitive, to India’s diversity. As policymakers, researchers, and practitioners, our collective responsibility is, to ensure that AI becomes, a tool for empowerment, inclusion, and trust—aligned with the welfare, and aspirations of all.
Thank you.
Jai Hind.