See All News by Ravish Kumar
Namaskar.
Do you know how much India’s software companies are actually investing in AI? Not in slogans. Not in summit speeches. But in real numbers — audited, allocated, deployed.
And if you don’t know, ask yourself — why don’t you?
Because for days now, headlines have been glittering. Billions of dollars. Global partnerships. Historic collaborations. “India to lead AI.” “India in a unique position.” “India becomes global AI power.”
But while the headlines sparkle, the stock market stumbles.
On 19 February, the Sensex fell sharply. The Nifty slid. Investors sold. If the future is so luminous, why is the present so nervous? Markets are not emotional beings. They are suspicious creatures. They ask: Show me the numbers.
We are told that Nvidia, Microsoft, Google will invest billions in India. Wonderful. But has anyone asked how much Infosys, TCS, or Reliance are investing in AI — not in press conferences, but in product-building, foundational models, chips, research labs?
Why are foreign investment announcements front-page celebrations, while domestic commitments remain footnotes?
Let’s pause.
Data centers are not AI leadership.
Building servers is not the same as building models.
And building models is not the same as controlling your own data destiny.
India generates nearly 20% of the world’s data. But our data center capacity is a fraction of that. Is this discussed in bold headlines? Or buried beneath smiling photographs of dignitaries?
At AI summits, the language is sweet — almost diabetic. “Design and Develop in India.” “Make AI in India.” “Double AI advantage.” Every year, a new slogan. Every year, a new bouquet of words.
But what happened to older bouquets?
Smart Cities?
Make in India?
Skill India?
Did we measure outcomes — or just celebrate announcements?
Let’s talk about energy. AI runs on electricity — enormous electricity. In the United States, AI firms are openly discussing power shortages. They are demanding expanded generation capacity. In India, power distribution companies already struggle. Subsidies distort pricing. Grids are stressed.
If AI data centers demand unprecedented loads, who adjusts?
Industry?
Households?
Or does this question never reach the headline?
Take the India AI Mission — ₹10,300 crore over five years. Roughly one billion dollars. Compare that with the hundreds of billions the U.S. ecosystem is mobilizing. Even China’s leaner experiments, like DeepSeek, shook markets because of efficiency claims.
The question is not whether India can succeed.
The question is: are we investing at the scale required?
When an American AI firm (Anthropic) partners with an Indian IT company (Infosys) and the stock price stabilizes, what does that signal? That the market trusts foreign technology more than domestic roadmaps? That we are service providers in an AI age dominated by foundational builders?
This is not pessimism. It is realism.
Even thoughtful analysts — like Shruti Rajagopalan writing from George Mason University — remind us that India’s AI efforts are promising but not yet foundational. That semiconductor ambitions face structural challenges. That subsidies often underperform allocations.
Yet, summit coverage often resembles a wedding buffet — everything on display, little digestion.
There is nothing wrong with aspiration. There is everything wrong with confusing aspiration with achievement.
Media must ask:
Where are the models?
Where are the chips?
Where is the sustained R&D spending?
Where is the independent compute capacity?
If India is to become an AI power, it will not happen through repetition of the word “leader.” Leadership is not declared. It is demonstrated.
And perhaps the most important question — are we preparing citizens to understand AI deeply? Or only to clap when it is mentioned?
When headlines glow too brightly, it becomes difficult to see the shadows.
We are not against ambition. We are against amnesia. Every summit must be followed by audit. Every slogan must be followed by scrutiny.
Otherwise, we risk mistaking applause for achievement.
So the next time you see a billion-dollar headline, pause. Ask: who is investing, how much, where, over what timeline, with what accountability?
Because democracy does not need cheerleaders.
It needs question-askers.
And in the age of AI, perhaps that is the most intelligent act of all.
Namaskar.
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