New Delhi, Feb 17 Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Tuesday stressed that artificial intelligence (AI) must be designed and governed as public infrastructure, just like India’s digital public infrastructure, so that its benefits reach every section of society.
Speaking at the “AI for the Next Billion” session organised by CEEW India during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 here, Kant said AI should be accessible, affordable, multilingual and accountable.
He underlined that technology can only be considered meaningful if it works for low-income users, people in low-bandwidth areas, non-English speakers, women, farmers, MSMEs and frontline workers.
Kant said that if AI fails to serve these groups, it is not fit for purpose.
“AI must be designed and governed as public infrastructure - accessible, affordable, multilingual, and accountable - much like India’s Digital Public Infrastructure,” Kant said.
“If AI does not work for low-income users, low bandwidth environments, non-English speakers, women, farmers, MSMEs, and frontline workers, then it is not fit for purpose,” he added.
He explained that India’s experience with digital public infrastructure shows how technology, when designed for scale and inclusion, can transform lives and expand opportunities.
Kant further said that when AI is treated as public infrastructure, governed with trust and deployed at a population scale, it has the potential to become one of the most powerful tools for inclusion in this generation.
“Such an approach can help ensure that the AI revolution does not remain limited to a few, but instead benefits millions across the country,” Kant added.
He added that India has a unique opportunity to lead by example by building AI systems that are people-centric and inclusive, setting a global benchmark for how emerging technologies should be developed and governed.
“If designed as public infrastructure, governed with trust, and deployed at population scale, AI can become the most powerful inclusion tool of our generation,” Kant mentioned.
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