The Akshaya Patra of the Mahabharata was no ordinary vessel. It could feed a thousand hungry stomachs and still hold more. A miracle of abundance that knew no bottom, no limit, no end.
Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries, invoked that same legend at the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi. Not just as mythology but prophecy.
He likened Artificial Intelligence to that legendary vessel. “AI offers limitless augmentation in knowledge, efficiency, and productivity,” he said.
Ambani described AI as a force unlike any other technology. For the first time, humans are creating systems that can learn, speak, analyse, move, and produce autonomously, he was quoted as saying.
He called AI the mantra that powers every yantra. He predicted a world without poverty and a future of prosperity for all eight billion people.
He highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of an AI-powered Vixit Bharat, a fully developed India by 2047. He said this vision could serve as a template for the Global South.
The global AI challenge is clear. “Will AI concentrate power in the hands of a few or democratise opportunity for all?” Ambani asked.
However, he warned of a scenario where data is controlled and capability is locked behind barriers of capital and geography in the global north. Inequality, he cautioned, could widen across nations, societies, and generations.
But there is another path: AI available, affordable, and beneficial to all. India, he said, believes in this path.
“India will emerge as one of the greatest AI powers in the world in the 21st century,” Ambani said. “My confidence is validated by an undeniable truth. In the coming decades, no country in the world can match India’s strength in demography, democracy, development, digital infrastructure, data generation, and AI Harvest.”
He then began a rundown of India’s achievements over the past ten years. First, India is the world’s largest mobile data consumer. Nearly one billion internet users. Data costs among the lowest globally. And in terms of quality, there is no difference between Delhi and the remotest Indian village.
He predicted India will emerge as a leading AI power in the 21st century. He cited India’s strengths: nearly 1 billion internet users, low data costs, 1.4 billion digital IDs through Aadhaar, and UPI processing over 12 billion transactions monthly.
India ranks among the top three startup ecosystems with 1,00,000 startups and over 100 unicorns. Its secure and inclusive digital public infrastructure is being adopted globally.
Jio has played a pivotal role, he said. With over 500 million subscribers, it has been central to India’s internet revolution. Connectivity, he noted, is now a lifeline. And Jio will now pivot: from connecting India to the internet, to connecting India to the Intelligence Era.
He also made three major announcements. First, Jio will deliver intelligence to every citizen, every sector, and every government service. “We will reduce the cost of intelligence as dramatically as the cost of data,” he said.
Reliability, quality, scale, and affordability will match Jio’s transformation of connectivity.
Second, Reliance and Jio will invest Rs 10 lakh crore over the next seven years.
“This isn’t speculative investment to chase valuation. This is disciplined, nation-building capital designed to create durable economic value and strategic resilience for decades to come,” he was quoted as saying.
Third, Jio Intelligence will build India’s sovereign compute infrastructure. “One – Gigawatt scale data centres. We have started construction on multi-GW AI-ready data centres at Jamnagar. 120MW will come online this year,” he said.
Reliance has an in-house green energy advantage with up to 10 GW of ready solar power in Kutch and Andhra Pradesh. A nationwide edge compute layer will make intelligence responsive, low-latency, and close to where people live, learn, farm, and work, he assured.
He said: “Our aim is clear: make intelligence as ubiquitous as connectivity.”
Additionally, he outlined five guiding principles for Jio Intelligence. AI will boost deep tech, advanced manufacturing, agriculture, small businesses, and the informal sector.
He said it would support all Indian languages, ensuring inclusion. Responsibility, security, data residency, and trust will be core guarantees. He assured AI will create new high-skill opportunities, not replace jobs.
Finally, India will build a strong ecosystem with enterprises, startups, IITs, IISc, and research Institutions, he outlined.
He described AI applications already underway. Jio Shikshak is an adaptive teaching assistant in 22 languages for 250 million school children and 50 million higher education students.
Jio Arogya AI delivers medical guidance in under five minutes in local languages.
Jio Krishi converts satellite imagery and weather data into voice-first advice for 140 million farmers.
Jio Bharat IQ, a voice-first AI companion, helps citizens learn, earn, and access government services.
Jio Frames and next-generation AI devices will make intelligence ambient and effortless.
Through Jio Hotstar, he envisioned, AI will multiply multilingual storytelling and amplify Indian creativity globally.
He stressed global cooperation. “AI works through sharing, not hoarding. Through collaborations, not conflicts,” he said. India, he added, is uniquely positioned as a bridge connecting the Global South and North.
He concluded with a call to action: “Let us pledge to transform this noble aspiration into reality. Let us combine intelligence with empathy and build a better future for all.”
Also Read: AI Summit Plagued By Chaos And Confusion https://www.vibesofindia.com/ai-summit-plagued-by-chaos-and-confusion/
