In a report that mentions the repercussions of
India falling behind in the AI technology, global brokerage firm Bernstein has
warned that India could face AI blackout if it does not build its own
"sovereign AI stack".
AI tools are gradually shifting from global
sharing towards closely guarded national weapon or resource. The US Govt has
already started restricting the access to its latest and most powerful AI
models from access by foreign citizens. These are now treated as top-secret
military or intelligence technology and critical infrastructure rather than an
open commercial product. Only the older, downgraded versions are being exported
to emerging markets.
Why is India so vulnerable?
The report mentions India depends heavily on
foreign technology - and that includes both software and hardware. India cannot
safeguard its economic and strategic interests on imported technology. There
will be issues if foreign companies or governments suddenly cut off access to
vital AI tools. The most affected sectors will be finance, defense and
space.
Why is India lagging?
The following reasons have been pointed out:
● India relies on renting foreign
models rather than building its own technology, despite India having a
massive amount of data.
● The lack of basic foundational platforms has
resulted in Indian Universities lacking in initiatives to develop deep academic
research focusing on building AI models.
● India's tech ecosystem has been "services-led" - working for other companies, rather than creating its own software products. They are more content with fine-tuning contents from external sources and find it more rewarding rather than taking risks and building original, foundational AI technology.
● Concerning the $1.2 billion India AI Mission, launched in 2024, the report mentions less than 20% of its budget goes toward building foundational models. A lot more is spent on importing hardware, which actually reinforces foreign dependence.
Solutions suggested in the report:
● Bernstein warns, calling
deep AI capabilities a "necessity, not a luxury". It
wants India to pursue its own "DeepSeek" and a
sovereign AI stack. Instead of trying to beat the US or China at
general AI, India should dominate specific sectors like healthcare and
industrials.
● It wants India to "restrict or pace access
to global AI models" while channelling capital and talent
into local, India-native LLMs (Large Language Models) room to grow. It
also suggested to ensure foreign firms build and operate India-based
AI stacks, while mentioning that the Indian government should act like a
referee or policy maker rather than trying to build everything themselves.
There is a comparison this to China's "Great Firewall"—meaning the
government should use strict regulations, restrictions, or protections to give
local tech companies an advantage over foreign giants.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/news/india-at-risk-of-ai-blackout-why-bernstein-wants-india-to-have-its-own-deepseek/articleshow/131958030.cms?from=mdr
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