On Thursday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman stated that the adoption of AI will help India become the world’s third-largest economy, thereby boosting productivity.

Speaking with University of Delhi students at the Institute of Economic Growth, the Finance minister said, “The kind of industries which are going to play a big role in speeding up India getting to the third position will largely depend on those which adopted AI. So, there is no ‘India’ industry or ‘Bharat’ industry, meaning new-age industry versus the traditional, old-fashioned industry”.

India, currently the world’s fifth-largest economy, is already on track to surpass Japan by March 2026, according to the IMF. Finance Minister now emphasises that widespread AI adoption will be the key driver to propel India towards becoming the third-largest economy in the world.

The Finance Minister said India needs to boost productivity to meet its fast growth goals. So, the government is looking at key sectors for investment and pushing for more technology use.

She said, “Technology being adopted could have multiplied your productivity faster than otherwise… Today, the rapidity with which some sectors are showing drastic change, I find the feature defining that drastic change is the adoption of technology”.

The Finance Minister noted that transitioning to green energy is more difficult today, as many countries now understand the “true cost” of moving from fossil fuels to renewables. New taxes on products made with high pollution are making it harder for countries like India, even though they’re already moving to clean energy.

Sitharaman highlighted India’s skill in using technology within its military, stating Operation Sindoor as a great example for defence experts. She praised how this operation seamlessly brought together different equipment and allowed the Army, Navy, and Air Force to work together smoothly. She also noted that while India does import some defence items, it mostly produces its own critical military equipment.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/business/industries-adopting-ai-to-play-a-big-role-in-india-becoming-3rd-largest-economy-says-fm-nirmala-sitharaman-10037406/

Indore-based RackBank Datacenters, a carbon-neutral company, is set to develop India’s first AI SEZ (Special Economic Zone). India’s commitment to becoming a global technology powerhouse is evident with this upcoming launch in Nava Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

RackBank Datacenters Pvt. Ltd. will invest ₹1,000 crore to develop a carbon-neutral data centre in Chhattisgarh. The Chhattisgarh government states that this AI SEZ will provide state-of-the-art facilities for AI research, development, and deployment.

Spread across six acres, the RackBank Data Centre SEZ will feature a 150,000 sq ft facility housing advanced servers and systems to power AI and large-scale digital operations. This zone, envisioned as India’s digital nerve centre, plans to develop four high-density data centres with a total of 80 megawatts to support digital infrastructure across multiple states.

The statement said, “The SEZ will benefit from tax exemptions and regulatory relaxations under the SEZ framework, providing an enabling environment for global and domestic firms to carry out cutting-edge AI development and data-driven innovation”.

India currently has 423 approved Special Economic Zones (SEZs), with 270 already operational. These zones are diverse, covering sectors such as IT, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, textiles, engineering, and multi-product manufacturing.

Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat host most operational SEZs, which are attracting significant IT and manufacturing investments.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/industry/public-sector-general-insurance-companies-psgics-india-nirmala-sitharaman-products-united-india-oriental-insurers-11748448272521.html

Around 8,000 IBM employees have been laid off, with the majority from Human Resources. This seems to be a direct result of IBM’s automation efforts, as AI recently took over 200 HR jobs, indicating a gradual replacement of human roles by AI.

Earlier this month, IBM replaced around 200 HR positions with AI, which now handles routine tasks like sorting information and answering employee queries. This hints at a broader trend: AI appears set to affect thousands more jobs within the company.

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna previously indicated that AI and automation would streamline processes and boost team efficiency. He noted that while automation led to savings, these were reinvested, increasing overall employee numbers in areas like software development, marketing, and sales.

Krishna reportedly said, “While we have done a huge amount of work inside IBM on leveraging AI and automation on certain enterprise workflows, our total employment has actually gone up. “It gives you more investment to put into other areas”.

IBM states it’s not reducing its total workforce, but changing what kind of jobs it needs. While creative and strategic roles (like marketing or software development) are safe, routine back-office tasks are most vulnerable to these shifts.

IBM’s Chief HR Officer, Nickle LaMoreaux, believes AI won’t eliminate all jobs. She explained, “Very few roles will be completely replaced”.

Instead, AI will handle routine tasks, allowing employees to focus on complex, judgment-based work.

Despite recent significant layoffs, IBM continues to promote its AI solutions. At their recent Think conference, they showcased new services enabling businesses to create and deploy their own AI agents, designed to work with platforms like OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/technology/news/story/ibm-is-cutting-around-8000-jobs-likely-because-of-ai-major-losses-in-hr-department-2731131-2025-05-27

A Salesforce report released on Monday, surveying 200 HR executives globally, highlights that agentic AI is not just a trend but a game-changing business strategy. This report indicated human resource leaders in India anticipate a 383% surge in the adoption of agentic AI by 2027.

Organisations expect a 383% surge in AI agent adoption over the next two years, projecting a resulting productivity increase of 41.7%. This shift will lead Indian Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) to redeploy almost a quarter (24.7%) of their workforce as their companies integrate digital labour.

While 81% of leaders know soft skills like relationship-building and collaboration are vital for working with agentic AI, most organisations aren’t ready for this change.

A significant 88% of leaders report that their companies haven’t yet integrated agentic AI, and 63% admit that employees don’t understand how this digital labour will affect their jobs. Given how agentic AI is changing work and necessary skills, understanding how HR leaders are preparing for flexibility is key.

Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer at Salesforce, said, “We’re in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of work with digital labour that is unlocking new levels of productivity, autonomy, and agency at a speed never before thought possible”.

“Every industry must redesign jobs, reskill, and redeploy talent — and every employee will need to learn new human, agent, and business skills to thrive in the digital labour revolution”, she added.

Indian HR leaders believe digital labour is the future, with 85% expecting human-AI collaboration soon. Yet, most are just starting to plan for it. Only 12% have fully integrated agentic AI, and over 60% of employees are still unaware of its impact, making AI implementation a top HR priority.

Source: https://www.siasat.com/indian-hr-leaders-expect-agentic-ai-adoption-to-grow-383-pc-by-2027-report-3225345/

Sarvam AI (Axonwise Pvt Ltd), India’s leading AI startup, recently launched its newest LLM (large language model) named Sarvam-M has caused a debate about its approach and the problems with India’s AI (artificial intelligence).

Sarvam AI, an early company selected for the IndiaAI Mission, launched Sarvam-M. Based on Mistral Small, this 24-billion parameter open-source model is a key development for Indic AI. It supports 10 Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, and Malayalam.

A limited 334 downloads in two days on Hugging Face led to considerable backlash for the project. Deedy Das, an investor at Menlo Ventures, openly criticised this model as “embarrassing”, and his comments, saying this small improvement wasn’t necessary, have sparked a heated debate among Indian AI experts.

Das highlighted the contrast with an open-source model created by two Korean college students, which achieved approximately 200,000 downloads.

Even though Sarvam promised more models later, their first one, Sarvam-M (which used a French AI model), faced criticism. Sarvam AI isn’t alone in getting few downloads. The government’s Param-1 model only had 12 downloads last week.

Das’s criticism isn’t just about downloads. He thinks Sarvam’s work shows they have the wrong goals. He said, “No one is asking for a slightly better 24B Indic model. “If you want to train models, there should be a very good reason for it.”

He added that Google and TWO.ai have models that are both cheaper and perform better in all these languages. He said, “I have nothing against Sarvam, but I just don’t think that at this moment their contributions are remotely commensurate to their funding”.

Sarvam has secured $41 million from investors like Lightspeed India Partners and Khosla Ventures, reaching a $111 million valuation by March 2025. Despite this, X users noted the model’s utility but also its need for improvement. Das believed Sarvam, despite their good Bulbul TTS model, needed to completely change how their systems work, pointing to DeepSeek in China as a model to follow.

Sarvam-M, despite low initial downloads, shows strong performance in Indian languages, outperforming some established models. While it gained criticism for its limited downloads, Sarvam AI emphasises its special role in improving AI for Indian languages and solving problems unique to India, like helping farmers. 

The debate highlights the challenge and importance of building AI for India. We need AI that understands India’s many languages and helps its large population who speak those languages, instead of just aiming for global fame.

Source: https://analyticsindiamag.com/ai-features/sarvam-ais-backlash-exposes-the-sad-state-of-indian-ai/

Indrajaal, an autonomous drone defence company, has introduced ‘Indrajaal Infra’, a new system built to protect critical infrastructure like nuclear plants, oil refineries, ports, airports, and power grids from drone threats.

The system uses the company’s SkyOS to automatically manage a multi-layered defence with sensors, spoofers, and jammers. This lets it watch and react to drones in real-time over huge areas, up to 4,000 square kilometres.

Indrajaal Infra is already in use at a naval port in Gujarat, with deployment initiated after successful field trials during recent cross-border incidents. Furthermore, a second system is being installed at India’s largest naval port in Karnataka.

Recent drone activity near the India-Pakistan border, though partly intercepted, highlighted the urgent need for better surveillance and defence, driving this launch.

Kiran Raju, Founder and CEO of Indrajaal, said, “Peacetime readiness is wartime insurance. The cost of protecting critical assets today is far lower than the cost of rebuilding them after an attack”.

The company highlighted how low-cost drone attacks can have significant consequences. Recent global incidents targeting oil terminals, energy infrastructure, and logistics hubs prove that drones can disrupt operations and cause economic and strategic damage.

Indrajaal Infra is an easy-to-use drone defence system that works with what’s already there and can protect different places. It uses smart tech (C5ISRT) to find and stop threats on its own. The company is working with defence groups, governments, and businesses to set it up in critical areas.

Source: https://manufacturing.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/aerospace-defence/indrajaal-unveils-ai-powered-drone-defence-system-for-key-infra/121334490

Niloufer Hospital in Hyderabad is now the first in the nation to utilise an AI-based diagnostic tool that performs rapid, needle-free blood tests.. This groundbreaking development for public health in India can eliminate the need for vials and laboratory wait times.

An app called Amruth Swasth Bharath, developed by health-tech startup Quick Vitals, utilises advanced face-scanning to give blood test results in 20 to 60 seconds, without a single drop of blood. It was recently revealed at the Red Hills campus of the Lakdikapul hospital.

Amruth Swasth Bharath utilises Photoplethysmography (PPG), a technology that works differently from regular blood tests. Instead of drawing blood, it uses light to check health through the skin. This allows it to assess key health indicators such as 

• Blood pressure
• Oxygen saturation (SpO2)
• Heart rate
• Respiration rate
• Heart rate variability (HRV)
• Haemoglobin A1c
• Stress levels
• Pulse respiratory quotient (PRQ)
• Sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity.

This non-invasive method lets healthcare professionals do immediate health assessments with a smartphone or tablet camera. For long-term care, wearable sensors allow continuous monitoring.

Harish Bisam, founder of Quick Vitals, explained that their app makes health monitoring incredibly easy and compares it to simply taking a selfie. He said, “Our mobile face scanning system provides access to essential health data in under a minute. We believe this will bridge existing gaps in healthcare access, especially in underserved communities”.

Experts suggest this easy access could be vital for widespread health screenings, especially in rural and semi-urban areas where labs are scarce.

Amruth Swasth Bharath is set to significantly enhance maternal and child health programs by helping doctors quickly find conditions like anaemia that are often missed. Niloufer Hospital is already using it, and Maharashtra is next. Built by Quick Vitals, this AI-powered system keeps patient data private and secure. This technology will make good health information available to more people, cut down on testing delays, and reduce the need for uncomfortable tests.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/health/story/ai-blood-test-tool-niloufer-hospital-non-invasive-diagnostics-telangana-quick-vitals-2727989-2025-05-21

Russia’s Sukhoi Su-57M fighter jet has completed its first flight using AI (artificial intelligence) assistance, a major breakthrough that could transform air combat in the future. This development has surprised US defence observers and created a strategic opening for India, which operates one of the world’s largest fleets of Russian-made Sukhoi aircraft.

Under the command of veteran test pilot Sergei Bogdan, the Su-57M recently completed its inaugural flight with significant AI assistance. While a human pilot remained onboard, an advanced AI system took charge of vital functions, including flight control, navigation, and target selection. This makes Russia one of the leading nations using AI in its fighter aircraft.

This AI is a key part of Russia’s long-running plan, the PAK FA program (started in 1999), to build advanced fighter jets. The Su-57M, an upgraded Su-57, has a powerful AL-51F-1 engine, advanced stealth, and long-range radar. Experts think it helps Russia compete better with American jets like the F-22 and F-35.

Although a pilot was present, AI took over much of the Su-57M’s flight, which will make pilots more efficient and quicker to react in dangerous situations by lightening their load. Defence experts predict this AI will be key to future air battles, enabling groups of fighters to respond to threats and missions with less human involvement.

Since India operates more than 270 Russian Su-30MKI aircraft and has strong defence ties with Russia, it’s well-positioned to team up on Russia’s AI-powered fighter jets. This could offer an affordable way for India to upgrade its current fleet with AI, which is crucial for today’s evolving air combat, especially after recent aerial encounters with Pakistan.

Source: https://www.news18.com/world/russia-unveils-first-ai-powered-sukhoi-su-57m-fighter-jet-heres-how-india-benefits-ws-dkl-9344568.html

Google Cloud is significantly expanding its AI (artificial intelligence) infrastructure within India. This important step in a rapidly growing market means Google Cloud will now host its advanced AI models and offer its full set of AI tools locally.

Indian enterprises and developers are set to gain from Google’s AI advancements, starting with the locally hosted Gemini 1.5 Flash. This results in quicker response times and improved efficiency. Future yearly updates will include even more powerful models, such as Gemini 2.5 Flash, which will enhance India’s data sovereignty.

Google Cloud has two operational regions in India, Mumbai and Delhi NCR (serving regulated sectors like government), and is collaborating with the Indian government on the ₹100 billion IndiaAI Mission, which includes subsidised compute for startups and researchers.

Google Cloud’s AI technology is essential for government programs, like the iGOT Karmayogi platform. This platform uses Google’s advanced AI (like Vertex AI and special processors) and ready-made AI assistants for support, data analysis, and security to personalise training for civil servants.

This expansion not only emphasises India’s significance within Google Cloud’s global AI vision but also supports the government’s push for greater AI innovation and a stronger digital foundation.

Source:

https://www.constructionworld.in/latest-construction-technology/google-cloud-expands-ai-infrastructure-in-india/73737

During the four-day military conflict with Pakistan, starting on the night of May 6th-7th, Indian defence sources reported successfully striking several of the neighbouring country’s military sites. 

India’s successful defence against Pakistani attacks was attributed to a powerful combination of three technologies. Space technology provided vital intelligence, advanced electronics offered strong defensive measures, and AI (artificial intelligence) delivered the analytical power needed for rapid and effective countermeasures.

According to sources, India’s possession of indigenous navigation, robust air defence with hard and soft kill options, and precise deep-penetration strike capabilities against Pakistan highlights the nation’s expanding strategic leverage through technological advancements.

A defence source said, “From detecting a radar picture of an enemy object in the sky, or taking a strategic position to shoot it down from land, sea and air was demonstrated using AI cloud-based state-of-the-art integrated air command and control systems”.

In last week’s Indo-Pak military conflict, India used a lot of its advanced technology to defend against Pakistani air threats. This was planned over five years ago, when the armed forces started looking at using AI in their strategies.

In 2018, the Defence Ministry formed the Defence AI Council (DAIC) and Defence AI Project Agency (DAIPA) after studying AI’s importance for security. By 2022, defence companies had a plan with 70 AI projects (40 done), and a total of 129 projects were approved by 2026 (77 done). In 2022, each branch of the military also set aside ₹100 crore for AI.

In the Western Theatre, the Indian Army now uses two AI systems from DRDO’s CAIR: the Intercept Management System (IMS) for automatic intelligence analysis and the Air Defence Control and Reporting System (ADC & RS) for detecting and stopping aerial threats early.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/business/ai-india-pakistan-conflict-aerial-attacks-10009639/