Vaishnaw Rejects IMF’s ‘Second-Tier AI Power’ Tag for India
He referred to a Stanford assessment which, he said, ranks India third globally in AI preparedness and among the top countries in AI talent
Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday strongly pushed back against the International Monetary Fund’s categorisation of India as a “second-tier” artificial intelligence power, asserting that global assessments place the country firmly among the leading AI nations.
Responding to remarks by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Vaishnaw questioned the basis of the IMF’s classification and cited independent benchmarks to support India’s position. He referred to a Stanford assessment which, he said, ranks India third globally in AI preparedness and among the top countries in AI talent.
“I don’t know what the IMF criteria has been, but Stanford places India third in terms of AI preparedness and penetration, and number two in AI talent. I don’t think the classification of India in the second group is correct. India is clearly in the first group,” Vaishnaw said on the sidelines of the WEF.
The minister underlined that India’s AI strategy focuses on widespread adoption rather than only building large-scale models. He said the government is prioritising broad-based diffusion of artificial intelligence across sectors to maximise real-world impact and economic returns.
Explaining India’s approach, Vaishnaw said AI capabilities should be assessed across five layers of the technology architecture — applications, models, chips, infrastructure and energy. According to him, India is actively developing capacity across all these layers and is making steady progress in each.
He highlighted India’s strength in the application layer, noting that Indian firms are well positioned to deliver AI-driven solutions for global enterprises. “On the application layer, we will probably be the biggest supplier of services to the world,” he said, adding that meaningful returns on investment come from deploying AI to solve business problems rather than from creating extremely large models.
Vaishnaw also pointed out that most practical use-cases can be addressed using mid-sized AI models, stressing that scale alone does not determine value. He linked India’s AI momentum to its broader economic growth, describing the country as the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
The remarks come amid growing global debate on AI leadership, governance and capability, as governments and institutions seek to position themselves in the rapidly evolving technology landscape.