Google CEO Sundar Pichai lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's efforts to transform India through his digital vision, particularly in exploring how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can benefit the nation. Pichai shared his insights following a roundtable discussion with PM Modi during the latter's three-day visit to the United States, where he engaged with CEOs from various technology companies.
"The Prime Minister has been focused on transforming India with his Digital India vision. He pushed us to continue making in India, design in India. We are proud to now make our Pixel phones manufactured in India," Pichai remarked after the meeting.
The Google CEO emphasized that PM Modi encouraged tech leaders to investigate the potential applications of AI across various sectors, including healthcare and education, to enhance the lives of Indian citizens. "He is really thinking about how AI can transform India in a way that benefits the people of India. He challenged us to think about applications in healthcare, education, and agriculture, and he's also thinking about the infrastructure of India, the data centres, power, energy and investing to make sure India can transition, and we are proud to be partnering with India," Pichai noted.
Pichai further revealed that Google is making significant investments in AI and collaborating with Indian government bodies to identify additional opportunities for AI integration. "We are robustly investing in AI in India and we look forward to doing more. We have several programs in partnership with MeiTy (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology), the Agriculture and Health ministries, and the Central and State governments, and we look forward to doing more in India," he stated.
Reflecting on PM Modi's vision for AI, Pichai affirmed that the Prime Minister possesses a clear understanding of the potential opportunities that AI presents. "He has a clear vision both in terms of the opportunity that AI will create. But he wants to make sure ultimately AI is there to benefit the people of India and he has a clear vision that it should all be in the service of the people of India. He's challenging us to do more," Pichai added.
