India became a member of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), joining other prominent economies like the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore. The GPAI is an international initiative involving multiple stakeholders and aims to steer AI's responsible development and utilization, emphasizing principles such as human rights, inclusion, diversity, innovation, and economic growth.

India hosted the GPAI Summit in December 2023. Responsible AI, data governance, future of work, innovation and commercialization were the four themes of the GPAI sessions. The Prime Minister informed about initiating a National Program on Artificial Intelligence and the soon-to-be-launched AI Mission, which aims to establish the computing powers of AI. 

Pointing out the challenges of deepfake, cyber security, data theft and terrorist organizations getting their hands on AI tools, Prime Minister Modi stressed the need for countermeasures. He emphasized working together just like the agreements and protocols on various international issues and creating a framework for the ethical use of AI, including the testing and development of high-risk or frontier AI tools.

What is the Delhi Declaration of the GPAI?‍

The Delhi Declaration of the GPAI is a commitment to harness the opportunities and mitigate the risks of AI. It emphasizes the importance of upholding human dignity, rights and democratic values

• The declaration recognizes the potential of AI to address global challenges and contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
• It calls for international cooperation and coordination on AI research, innovation, and policy
• The GPAI supports the development of a comprehensive framework for safe and trusted AI and endorses India's proposal to establish a Global Digital Public Infrastructure Repository (GDPIR)
• The GDPIR will consolidate crucial insights and knowledge from both G20 members and guest nations
• The declaration also calls for further dialogue on AI governance and ethics among stakeholders.

NITI Aayog, India's policy think tank, circulated a cabinet note in 2019 to establish a cloud computing platform called AIRAWAT (Artificial Intelligence Research, Analytics and Knowledge Assimilation Platform). The platform aims to make India a pioneer amongst emerging AI economies and transform sectors like education, health, agriculture, urbanization, and mobility. The Indian government has been pushing for AI development, and AIRAWAT is expected to contribute significantly to this effort.

References: 

• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspxPRID=1985585#:~:text=Background-,GPAI%20is%20a%20multi%2Dstakeholder%20initiative%20with%2029%20member%20countries,chair%20of%20GPAI%20in%202024. 
• https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-partnership-on-artificial-intelligence-gpai-summit

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