IAMAI launches AI Council of India to bring government, startups and industry onto one AI platform

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has introduced the AI Council of India (AICI), a national platform aimed at bringing together policymakers, technology companies, startups, academia and investors to accelerate the country's artificial intelligence ambitions.The council was launched in the presence of Maharashtra Information Technology and Cultural Affairs Minister Ashish Shelar and Neelkanth Mishra, Member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister and Executive Director-designate at the World Bank.Positioned as a collaborative industry body, AICI seeks to address fragmentation across India's AI landscape by creating a common platform for stakeholders working across research, policy, innovation and commercial deployment.Speaking at the launch, Shelar said Maharashtra intends to play an active role in shaping the AI economy rather than remaining a passive participant. He added that Indian startups are already developing globally competitive AI products, while domestic technology companies are deploying AI at significant scale.Mishra highlighted the need to strengthen India's research ecosystem over the next three to five years, arguing that high-quality research institutions would help attract greater venture capital investment into AI startups and deepen innovation in the sector.Also read: India scrutinizes Telegram, Signal over fraud risksAccording to IAMAI, India's AI ecosystem benefits from a large talent pool, expanding startup activity, robust digital public infrastructure and rising enterprise adoption. However, efforts across government, industry, academia and startups often operate independently, limiting opportunities for large-scale collaboration.The newly formed council aims to bridge these gaps by encouraging coordinated action between public and private stakeholders.AICI has identified three strategic priorities for its roadmap. The first focuses on advancing frontier AI research, including the development of foundation models, sovereign AI capabilities and benchmarks tailored for India's multilingual population. The second centres on expanding AI infrastructure by improving access to GPU computing resources and lowering compute costs for startups and MSMEs. The third seeks to accelerate practical AI adoption through cost-efficient and open-source solutions across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, financial services and education.The council also plans to establish the India AI Summit as an annual industry gathering to bring together leaders from across the AI ecosystem. In addition, it intends to launch a nationwide network of AICI AI Clubs across universities to promote AI education, research and talent development.With AI increasingly becoming central to India's digital economy, the council aims to provide a structured platform to align policy, research, investment and industry priorities while supporting broader adoption of artificial intelligence across the country.