New York, August 28, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
India has made limited progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI) despite the significant contribution of Indian technologists to the field, senior Congress leader Sam Pitroda has said, urging the country to use AI to address challenges in governance, courts, education, healthcare and agriculture.
In an exclusive interview with IANS, Pitroda drew a distinction between the global success of Indian-origin AI professionals and India’s progress as a nation in developing and deploying the technology.
“India is in a bad position in AI. I’m sorry to say that. I don’t like to say that. Believe me. Indians are in a good position on AI. Two separate things,” he said.
“There are a lot of Indian brains who shape AI. But as a nation, we have made very little progress. We have no policy on AI. We have no direction on AI. We have not used AI for our governance,” Pitroda added.
He said India should measure its AI progress by its ability to solve problems affecting ordinary citizens, rather than focusing mainly on commercially lucrative applications.
Pointing to the huge backlog of cases in Indian courts, Pitroda called for a dedicated technology mission to explore how AI could help speed up the judicial process.
“Can I use AI to settle my court cases? Finish. Can I just have a project, special technology mission on AI to settle court cases? Get that done, then I’d be very happy,” he said.
Pitroda also urged policymakers to explore how AI could improve education and healthcare, reduce healthcare costs and assist farmers. He said technology developed for India’s needs could eventually find applications across other developing countries facing similar challenges.
“When you make made for India, it becomes made for world,” he said, adding that the relevance of a technology depended on the problem it was designed to solve.
Pitroda also advocated indigenous technological development, recalling his association with the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) and other efforts to build domestic capabilities in telecommunications and information technology.
He said such initiatives helped develop the human capital that later contributed to India’s global IT success.
Pitroda argued that India should now channel this talent towards solving problems faced by poorer communities and developing countries.
“We have to be really solving the problems of the poor,” he said, adding that the world’s best technological minds often focus on problems of wealthier populations while challenges faced by the poor receive less attention.
Pitroda played a prominent role in India’s telecommunications and technology expansion during the tenure of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He later headed the National Knowledge Commission under former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and has advised Congress leaders on technology and public policy.
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