India, Artificial Intelligence, and Global Leadership: UPSC Perspective

📘 A Suryavanshi IAS Insight for Aspirants

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Introduction: Why AI Matters for UPSC Aspirants

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not just a technological concept anymore—it is a transformative force shaping diplomacy, governance, ethics, and development. For UPSC aspirants, AI has relevance across GS Paper II (Governance, International Relations) and GS Paper III (Science & Tech, Security, and Environment).

With India hosting the AI Impact Summit in February 2026, this becomes a key topic for UPSC mains and essay writing.

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From Labs to Leadership: AI’s Global Emergence

Just three years ago, ChatGPT brought AI into households and parliaments. Since then, AI summits have become a global norm. However, AI governance is now being shaped in a fractured geopolitical landscape:

• War in Ukraine

• Instability in West Asia

• Trade wars and tech regulation conflicts

• Fracture in AI diplomacy at the Paris AI Summit 2025

In this fractured world, India is well-positioned to bridge divides and lead with inclusivity, ethics, and equity.

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🧭 India’s Unique Advantage

India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT has begun preparations by consulting citizens via MyGov—giving it a democratic legitimacy that earlier hosts lacked.

As a leader of the Global South, India must use this opportunity not just to host but to lead global discourse on ethical, inclusive, and development-focused AI.

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🇮🇳 India’s 5-Point Proposal for AI Summit 2026

1. Accountable Goals: Pledges & Report Cards

Inspired by Aadhaar and UPI, India can propose that each delegation make a public AI goal—e.g.,:

• Offering free rural AI courses

• Using AI for local language healthcare

• Reducing AI energy footprints

A scoreboard after 12 months will ensure transparency and accountability.

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2. Global South at the Front Row

India must ensure inclusive representation from Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

Proposal: “AI for Billions Fund” supported by Gulf investors and development banks—to enable access to cloud credits, fellowships, and multilingual AI tools.

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3. Common AI Safety Check

With multiple nations setting up AI safety bodies, India can propose a Global AI Safety Collaborative:

• Red teaming guidelines

• Bias evaluation kits

• Incident reporting protocols

This brings standardisation and cooperation across safety institutes.

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4. Middle Path on Regulation

India can present a Voluntary Code of Conduct on frontier AI models:

• Publish red-team results in 90 days

• Disclose compute power thresholds

• Establish accident reporting hotlines

This balances the extremes of US deregulation and Chinese central control.

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5. Avoid Geopolitical Fragmentation

India must strive to keep AI summits collaborative, despite tensions between the US and China. The agenda should focus on shared risks like:

• AI weaponisation

• Misinformation

• Algorithmic bias

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🌍 India’s Broader Role in Global AI Governance

India should not seek to create a global AI authority overnight but rather consolidate existing frameworks and build digital capacity among developing nations.

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🔍 UPSC Relevance: GS Paper Linkages

📘 GS Paper II: Governance & IR

• Role of Civil Society (MyGov consultations)

• Multilateral institutions and diplomacy

• India’s leadership in Global South

📗 GS Paper III: Science & Technology

• Indigenisation of AI tools (Aadhaar, UPI, Bhashini)

• Cybersecurity and bias in AI

• Digital infrastructure development

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✍️ Previous Year UPSC Questions – Highly Relevant

Mains GS Paper II

Q. (2020) "‘India’s role in global climate leadership is acknowledged, yet its leadership in tech diplomacy remains limited.’ Discuss with reference to digital governance and AI."

Mains GS Paper III

Q. (2023) "What are the main challenges in using Artificial Intelligence in governance and public service delivery in India?"

Q. (2022) "Discuss the ethical concerns of using AI in decision-making in the public sector."

Essay Paper

Q. (2022) "Technology as the silent partner in governance: Discuss."

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📝 Final Thoughts: India’s Moment to Lead

India’s hosting of the AI Impact Summit 2026 is more than diplomatic prestige—it is a chance to define ethical and inclusive AI governance for the next decade. As aspirants of civil services, understand this as a case study in:

• Policy innovation

• Global leadership

• Ethical governance

• Digital empowerment

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📚 Call to Aspirants: Practice & Reflect

✅ Write an essay on: "India and Ethical Artificial Intelligence: Leadership for the Global South."
✅ Practice answers on AI governance under GS II & III frameworks.
✅ Explore India’s digital public infrastructure model and its global scalability.

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✒️ Prepared by: Suryavanshi IAS
🎯 Turning Aspirants into Achievers