At the International Telecommunication Union – World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (ITU WTSA), Akash Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Jio Infocomm, highlighted the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform India into a global manufacturing and service hub.
He said, “With Artificial Intelligence, India has the potential to completely transform the manufacturing centres, including SMEs, so that India becomes a new-age factory and new-age service centre for the world. AI is critical for realising our dream of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Therefore, India, under your leadership, should urgently embrace AI with a holistic strategy driven by maximum Atma Nirbhar efforts.”
Addressing the conference, Ambani expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his visionary leadership.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is under your visionary guidance that the India Mobile Congress has grown in stature and achieved global standing, making it a significant platform for digital innovation and collaboration,” Akashi Ambani said.
During his address, Ambani highlighted the rapid digital transformation in India. The Reliance Jio Chairman stated, “In Modi’s India, there’s no more business as usual. Rather, there’s unusual synergy between government and industry to deliver world-class services to satisfy the needs and expectations of 1.45 billion Indians. As a representative of young India, I thank you for your incredible connection with the youth and for inspiring us to pursue impossible-looking goals. As we say in Hindi, ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai.'”
He then praised India’s achievements in telecommunications, adding, “The world is in awe of a nation that, crawling at 2G speed only eight years ago, is now galloping down the 5G highway.” He assured the Prime Minister that India would excel in 6G, saying, “From a nation that ranked a lowly 155th in mobile broadband adoption, we have risen to become the world’s largest data market.”
Ambani also highlighted India’s inclusivity in digital transformation. “Modiji has ensured that innovation leads to more inclusion. He has democratised digital technology and used it as a tool to take the benefits to the last mile, leaving no one behind. India’s digital revolution has spread to the remotest corners of our nation,” Akash Ambani said while adding that with this, India was able to incorporate 530 million ‘unbanked’ Indians into its financial system through the PM’s Jan-Dhan Yojana.
Interestingly, Ambani presented two suggestions to the Prime Minister during his address. First, he called for urgent action to embrace AI, which he sees as “the most revolutionary tool of transformation invented by the human mind.”
Second, he urged the government to expedite updates to the 2020 draft of the data centre policy to keep Indian data in India.
He said, “Indian mobile companies, along with the thriving ecosystem, are in a position to offer solutions to the rest of the world, including developed nations.”
Ambani also brought attention to the need for accelerated talent generation to establish India as a global AI leader. “Some of the existing jobs will evolve, and many more exciting opportunities for employment will arise,” Ambani said during the ITU-WTSA.
He added, “Entrepreneurship is going to be created rapidly, just like during the adoption of computers and the Internet. In conclusion, it is our promise not only that India will lead the charge in mobile innovation, but we will fully embrace the power of AI to create a connected, intelligent future that is truly transformative for every Indian.”