The Regulation-First Trap
India stands at a crossroads in its AI journey. While the government has rightly identified AI as a transformative technology, the current approach — focused primarily on regulation — risks stifling the very innovation it aims to promote.
Countries like the United States, China, and the UAE have adopted AI-first strategies that prioritize investment, talent development, and infrastructure before imposing regulatory frameworks. India, with its vast talent pool and digital infrastructure, has the potential to lead — but only if it gets the sequencing right.
What a National AI Strategy Should Include
- AI Research Fund: A $10B national fund for AI research and development
- Talent Pipeline: AI curriculum in universities and upskilling programs
- Compute Infrastructure: National AI compute clusters for startups and researchers
- Open Data: Government datasets made available for AI training
- Sandboxes: Regulatory sandboxes for AI experimentation before full regulation
"India has 30% of the world's AI talent. What we lack is not capability, but a coherent national strategy to harness it." — NASSCOM AI Report 2026
