MAIT AI Summit 2025: Charting India’s path to inclusive and secure AI

The MAIT AI Summit 2025, held as the official Pre-Summit event to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, brought together government leaders, industry veterans, and thought leaders to explore how artificial intelligence can transform India’s economy and society. The day was a confluence of insights, case studies, and forward-looking discussions emphasizing inclusive AI, secure adoption, and the strategic importance of emerging technologies for national competitiveness.

The summit began with an inspiring inaugural address that set the tone for a day focused on responsible AI deployment across sectors. Speakers highlighted India’s AI potential, noting that while market excitement around AI may create hype cycles, the technology’s long-term strategic value is undeniable. Emphasis was placed on AI as an enabler for competitiveness and efficiency, a tool that must be deployed inclusively, with secure infrastructure, and supported by strong policy and governance frameworks.

AI policy, governance, and responsible adoption

The session brought together key policymakers and industry experts to discuss the foundations of responsible AI in India. Discussions highlighted the importance of regulatory clarity, ethical AI guidelines, and frameworks for accountability. Panelists including Anil Nair, Vice President of Engineering, Cisco; Ranganath Sadasiva, CTO, HPE India; Sanjay Krishen, Regional Director IT, Intel; Yatin Dharamshi, Head of Tech Strategy & Transformations, Cloud and Network Services, Nokia; and Ashish Sharma, Senior Presales Consultant, Dell Technologies, moderated by Niju Vijayan, Partner, Avanteum Advisors, noted that AI should serve as an augmentation of human intelligence, not a replacement, and that ultimate responsibility must rest with human oversight.

“AI is here to enhance human capabilities. Responsibility will always remain with us, irrespective of the tools we use.”

The conversation underscored the critical need for structured reskilling initiatives to prepare the workforce for emerging technologies, including generative, physical, and agentic AI. A panelist noted, “AI is here to enhance human capabilities. Responsibility will always remain with us, irrespective of the tools we use.”

Narendra Nath Gangavarapu on AI, national security, and inclusive growth

In an impactful keynote address, Narendra Nath Gangavarapu, Joint Secretary, National Security Council Secretariat, underscored AI as a transformative force for India and globally. He highlighted the importance of distinguishing between short-term market hype and long-term strategic value.

Gangavarapu stressed that AI must be accessible, affordable, and capable of reducing inequalities, cautioning against a widening AI divide. He also emphasized national security and sovereignty, stating that AI constitutes critical infrastructure, and sovereign access to compute facilities, datasets, and models is essential to safeguard national interests.

Safe and secure AI deployment, risk-based frameworks, and unified national standards were highlighted as imperative for trust and resilience. Gangavarapu pointed out that AI is already deployed at scale for cybersecurity to detect threats, yet further advancements in federated and privacy-preserving approaches are required. He also warned of emerging risks such as disinformation, deepfakes, and offensive AI operations, stressing that proactive safeguards and strong partnerships are central to responsible AI adoption.

AI readiness & security – Enabling India’s enterprises

The second session delved into enterprise adoption and the AI readiness landscape across India. The panel, consisting of Ryan D’Souza, Country Manager, HPC and AI, HPE India; Sahil Arora, AI Lead, Qualcomm India; Namit Sood, Government & Enterprise Head & Director, Data Centre & Compute, Dell; and Daniel Goh, APAC CTO, Veracity Trust Networks, moderated by Pranjal Sharma, Economic Analyst, Advisor, and Author, emphasized that while India leads global averages in AI readiness, significant gaps remain between ambition and execution. Enterprises are increasingly moving from scattered pilot projects to structured, ROI-driven AI initiatives, particularly in sectors such as healthcare, defence, manufacturing, agriculture, and retail. However, scaling beyond pilots remains a major challenge.

“India’s AI opportunity is massive, but true impact will come from secure, scalable, and execution-driven adoption.”

Speakers highlighted the necessity of robust data foundations, secure architectures, MLOps, and inter-departmental data sharing, alongside heightened focus on AI security risks. Workforce readiness, continuous reskilling, and preparation for next-generation AI technologies were also flagged as critical success factors. The panel stressed that India’s AI opportunity is immense, but the true impact will come from secure, scalable, and execution-driven adoption.

Responsible and Inclusive AI – Driving real-world impact

The final session of the day focused on responsible and inclusive AI, bringing the discussion to practical applications and societal impact. Sunil Kumar Meena, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Panchayat Raj; Ramesh Karwani, Head-Technology Policy, IBM-India/SA; Sumit Monga, Head-Government Relations, Lenovo Group; and Sidharth Choudhary, Sr. Manager-Govt. Affairs, Qualcomm India, joined the panel moderated by Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia Group. They discussed how AI can enhance public governance, improve agricultural productivity, and support MSMEs, particularly when paired with hybrid cloud and sovereign AI architectures that ensure sensitive data remains secure.

Questions from the audience highlighted concerns around data ownership, accountability, and the rapid pace of technological change. Panelists emphasized that AI is an augmentation, not a replacement, of human intelligence, and that governance and human oversight remain paramount. They also shared use cases such as the Gram Manchit application integrated with IMD weather forecasts for panchayats and pilot projects with ISRO and NASA-inspired geospatial models to predict landslides and natural disasters, demonstrating AI’s potential to save lives and enhance decision-making.

The panel further explored AI adoption among MSMEs, highlighting initiatives to make off-the-shelf and SaaS AI solutions accessible and affordable. Speakers stressed the importance of digital literacy, education, and awareness campaigns to ensure technology reaches even the most digitally underserved populations.

One panelist observed, “AI will actually make life easier to bridge the digital divide. It will start detecting challenges and prompting solutions that are understandable to all users.” Inclusivity was also emphasized for differently-abled communities, with panelists noting how AI-driven solutions can make meaningful improvements in accessibility and quality of life.

A promise of secure and inclusive AI

The summit concluded with a vote of thanks by Col Suhail Zaidi, who lauded the day’s discussions as a blueprint for India’s AI ecosystem. The event brought clarity to the role of AI in enhancing competitiveness, societal benefit, and national security. Participants departed with a reinforced understanding that the promise of AI can only be realized through secure, inclusive, and strategic adoption, supported by robust governance, education, and collaboration between government and industry.