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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized the importance of regulation in AI growth

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasized the critical need for regulation to keep pace with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) during the launch of NITI Aayog’s AI roadmap aimed at accelerating India’s economic growth. Speaking at the event, she highlighted that AI is a dynamic and rapidly evolving technology, and regulatory frameworks must “run the race” alongside it to ensure ethical and responsible use. Sitharaman emphasized that AI should be harnessed for the common good, providing in-situ solutions that can improve urban planning, infrastructure, and the quality of life across India’s diverse districts. She also stressed the importance of upskilling the workforce to meet AI’s requirements and the role of government policies in fostering innovation while safeguarding societal interests.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman underscored the vital role of agile and forward-looking regulation to foster the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) in India during the launch of NITI Aayog’s AI roadmap, aimed at propelling the country towards a $10 trillion digital economy. Highlighting the unprecedented pace of AI development, Sitharaman emphasized that regulation cannot be static but must dynamically evolve “on the sprint” alongside the technology to mitigate ethical, privacy, and security risks while enabling innovation.
Sitharaman demonstrated strong support for leveraging AI to address domain-specific problems by promoting “in-situ” solutions tailored for various states and districts across India. She described AI as a powerful driver of economic growth, urban planning, infrastructure development, governance, and overall quality of life enhancement. To harness AI’s full potential, she called attention to the urgent need for capacity-building, talent development, and skilling initiatives that align with emerging technology demands.

The Finance Minister stressed that policy frameworks should be designed not to stifle innovation but to nurture it responsibly with accountability and transparency. She also pointed to the importance of collaboration among government, academia, industry, and civil society to create an ecosystem fostering frontier technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain.
The launch event saw the unveiling of NITI Aayog’s comprehensive AI roadmap and the Frontier Tech Repository, a digital platform aimed at consolidating India’s AI research and development efforts. These initiatives reinforce the government’s vision of making India a global AI innovation hub that is inclusive, sustainable, and secure, thereby aligning with national priorities including economic growth, social equity, and digital sovereignty.
In summary, Sitharaman’s remarks and the launch of the AI roadmap reflect India’s strategic approach to adopting AI—balancing cutting-edge innovation with ethical governance and human-centric development to accelerate the country’s digital transformation journey.