Davos 2026: Ashwini Vaishnaw Rebuts IMF Chief's Remark Calling India 'Second-Tier AI Power' Watch

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Union Minister for Electronics and IT Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday rejected International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva's suggestion that India belongs to a second tier of AI economies, saying India is clearly in the first group globally.

“I don't know what the IMF criteria have been, but Stanford places India as third in terms of AI penetration, in terms of AI preparedness, and in terms of AI talent,” Vaishnaw said, addressing a World Economic Forum (WEF) panel in Davos.

Also Read | Trump Davos 2026 Visit LIVE: Air Force One snag delays Trump address

The minister addressed the IMF chief directly regarding the classification and said,“I don't think your classification in the second tier is right. It's actually in the first.”

The Union Minister detailed India's comprehensive strategy across the five layers of AI architecture, which include the application, model, chip, infrastructure, and energy. He noted that India is making significant progress in all these sectors to ensure its independence in the global tech landscape. Vaishnaw emphasised that India is charting its own course rather than strictly aligning with the paradigms set by the United States or China.

At the application layer, Vaishnaw projected that India would become the world's largest supplier of AI services. He explained that success in AI deployment depends on understanding enterprise business needs to provide specific services, which is where the return on investment (ROI) is generated. He argued that ROI does not come from creating very large models, noting that“95% of the work can happen with models which are 20 billion or 50 billion parameters”.

Also Read | WEF 2026: Vaishnaw participates in roundtable with semiconductor CEOs at Davos

The Minister confirmed that India already possesses a“bouquet” of such models, which are currently being deployed across multiple sectors to increase productivity and efficiency. He stated that the government's focus remains on ensuring that“AI diffusion happens in a very big way” across the domestic economy.

I don't think your classification in the second tier is right. It's actually in the first.

The panel, which focused on AI and the economy, included Saudi Arabian Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and Microsoft President Brad Smith. Throughout the session, Vaishnaw maintained that India's status as the fastest-growing major economy is supported by its talent pool, which he noted is ranked highly globally by Stanford.

(With ANI inputs)

MENAFN21012026007365015876ID1110629305