Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Wednesday that India will establish a national large language model (LLM) for AI research and emphasized the need for investment in the sector.
Speaking virtually at a post-Budget webinar, he highlighted India’s ambition to compete with leading global players in artificial intelligence.
A strong proponent of advancing AI research in the country, PM Modi co-chaired the AI Action Summit in Paris alongside French President Emmanuel Macron on February 10-11. During the event, he revealed that India’s LLM would be shaped by the nation's rich diversity. He also called for global cooperation to leverage AI for economic growth, social progress, and sustainable development, while stressing the importance of bias-free data sets in AI.
While delivering a virtual address at the post-budget webinar, the Prime Minister emphasized employment generation. He highlighted that since 2014, the government has provided skill training to over 30 million young individuals. PM Modi further added, "We have announced plans to upgrade 1,000 ITI institutes and create five Centres of Excellence. Our aim is to ensure that youth training aligns with industry needs... To provide new opportunities and practical skills, we have launched the PM Internship Scheme. We must ensure that businesses of all sizes actively participate in this scheme.”
"In this year's Budget, we announced 10,000 additional medical seats, with a target of adding 75,000 seats in the medical field over the next five years."
Emphasizing the medical industry, PM Modi mentioned that telemedicine services are being expanded in primary health centers. "Through day-care cancer centres and digital healthcare infrastructure, we aim to provide quality healthcare to the last mile," he noted.
PM Modi Expresses Insights on Investment
While virtually addressing the webinar, PM Modi emphasized investments in India and stated, "The vision of investment in people stands on three pillars—Education, Skills, and Healthcare. Today, you can see how India's education system is undergoing a massive transformation after several decades. Major initiatives such as the National Education Policy, expansion of IITs, integration of technology into the education system, full utilisation of AI, digitisation of textbooks, and making study materials available in 22 Indian languages are all underway."
He also emphasized that prioritizing investment in people, the economy, and innovation is key to India's development strategy.
"You can see its large-scale impact in this year's Budget. This Budget serves as a blueprint for India's future. While we have prioritised infrastructure and industries in investment, we have equally focused on people, the economy, and innovation. Capacity building and talent development form the foundation of the country's progress. Therefore, in the next phase of development, we need to invest even more in these areas," he added.
Strategic Urban Development
In his speech, PM Modi mentioned that by 2047, India's urban population is projected to reach approximately 900 million, emphasizing the need for planned urbanization. Expanding on this, he stated, "We have decided to allocate Rs 1 trillion to the Urban Challenge Fund... The private sector, especially the real estate industry, must focus on planned urbanisation."
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