Democratising AI: Towards Open, Decentralised AI Ecosystems

(Basu Chandola, Anirban Sarma – Observer Research Foundation) Over the past decade, India has demonstrated what inclusive digital transformation can achieve. From driving digital financial inclusion and powering the world’s largest vaccination programme to enabling secure e-commerce and strengthening direct benefit transfers, the country’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) has shown how technology can serve citizens at scale and create public value. The India Stack, built on open standards, interoperability, and public–private collaboration, has become a global reference point for how digital ecosystems can unlock innovation while expanding access. As India prepares to lead the Artificial Intelligence (AI) revolution, it is committed to building on this legacy. It envisages AI as “a big tool to solve many problems simultaneously”, one that can drive economic growth, strengthen public services, and address social challenges while containing the associated risks. Boosting the accessibility of the technology and ensuring that no single player has a monopoly over it are two critical priorities of the strategy. Similar to the development of DPI, India aims to create a model in which the government invests in platforms, enabling everyone to use the technology to innovate, develop, and deliver products and services in a competitive and collaborative manner. – Democratising AI: Towards Open, Decentralised AI Ecosystems