Gautam Adani, the chairman of the Adani Group, has issued a clarion call for India to develop its own artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystems. Speaking at the annual general meeting of Adani Enterprises Ltd., Adani emphasized that the nation cannot afford to depend on foreign algorithms and must build sovereign AI models to safeguard its economic future and national security.
The Core Argument for Sovereign AI
Adani positioned AI as the most significant technological transformation in history, one that will profoundly impact global economies, politics, and national power. He argued that India's reliance on AI systems and foundational models developed outside its borders poses a critical strategic risk. These foreign algorithms, he noted, are inherently trained on data and contexts that may not align with India's unique demographic, cultural, and economic landscape.
The industrialist highlighted a dual threat. First, the widespread adoption of foreign AI could lead to significant job displacement within India, as these systems are not optimized to create employment opportunities suited to the Indian market. Second, and more critically, he pointed to the risk of "data colonization," where the intelligence derived from India's vast population data ends up enriching and empowering corporations and nations abroad, potentially compromising India's data sovereignty and strategic intelligence.
Energy and Infrastructure: The Bedrock of AI Ambition
Adani seamlessly connected India's AI aspirations with its energy and infrastructure needs. He underscored that AI is fundamentally an energy-guzzling technology. The computational power required to train large language models (LLMs) and run massive data centers is immense. Therefore, India's journey to becoming an AI power is inextricably linked to its ability to generate vast amounts of sustainable, reliable, and affordable electricity.
He framed this not as a challenge but as an unprecedented opportunity. The massive demand for energy created by AI data centers, coupled with India's goals for economic growth and green transition, will require trillions of dollars in investment in energy infrastructure. This, Adani stated, positions the energy and transportation sectors at the core of India's next growth phase, creating a synergistic cycle where AI development drives infrastructure expansion, which in turn enables further technological advancement.
Strategic Implications and the Road Ahead
The Adani Group chairman's comments come at a time when governments worldwide are grappling with the implications of generative AI. His speech aligns with a growing global consensus on the need for technological self-reliance in critical areas. For India, which boasts a massive digital population and a thriving tech talent pool, building indigenous AI capabilities is seen as essential for maintaining control over its digital destiny.
Adani concluded by reinforcing the scale of the opportunity. He projected that India will need to add a power generation capacity equivalent to that of the entire European Union over the next decade to fuel its economic and AI ambitions. This vision places immense responsibility on conglomerates like his own and calls for concerted policy action to create an environment where Indian AI models can be developed, trained, and deployed to serve national interests first.
The call to action is clear: India must invest in its own AI research, develop models on Indian data, and build the monumental energy infrastructure required to power this new technological era, ensuring that the benefits of AI accrue within the country and protect its strategic autonomy.
