India's approach to AI rooted in public benefit rather than fear-driven regulation: Carnegie India Director Rudra Chaudhuri
Dec 11, 2025
New Delhi [India] December 11 : Rudra Chaudhuri, Director of Carnegie India, emphasised that India's approach to AI is rooted in adoption and public benefit, rather than fear-driven regulation.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Carnegie Global Technology Summit Innovation Dialogue 2025, he said, "While discussions in countries like the US and China often revolve around superintelligence, India's focus is on AI's real-world impact today, particularly its ability to improve the lives of farmers, patients, and students."
He highlighted an existing use case in which 16 million Indian farmers receive AI-driven guidance on crop decisions across 19-20 languages.
Talking about the regulation in AI, he said, "Regulation is obviously important in AI, but I think the general view that the Indian government has taken is that India is pro-innovation. MeitY reflects this stance...."
"I don't think it wants to regulate AI as the innovation curve is developing. But obviously, like any government, there will be some degree of regulation on AI," he added.
Further speaking on semiconductors, he said that India's semiconductor ambitions have entered a decisive growth phase, with over 10 projects underway across manufacturing, fabrication, assembly, and testing.
Chaudhuri said the country's progress directly counters early scepticism about its ability to develop a competitive semiconductor ecosystem.
On US chip export rules, Chaudhuri explained that India was dissatisfied with its earlier classification under the Biden administration's "diffusion rule."
With that rule now scrapped and the Trump administration considering a new framework, he expressed cautious optimism.
Citing the recent major investment announcements by Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, he argued that a pragmatic export control system would be essential for India as a major future hub for data centres.
Carnegie India hosted the Global Technology Summit Innovation Dialogue in New Delhi on December 11 as an official pre-summit event for the upcoming AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from February 15 to 20, 2026.
