New Delhi: As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to reshape global economies, India is making a significant move in steering AI policy and governance on the global stage.
At the AI Action Summit Paris 2025, AI4India and the Center for Policy Research and Governance (CPRG) will co-host a high-profile panel discussion titled “Data for Development: Building AI in the Global South.” The session will bring together top AI experts and policymakers to explore AI’s transformative potential in emerging economies.
As a curtain-raiser to the event, AI4India and CPRG have announced the speaker lineup, marking a milestone as the only non-governmental organizations from India to host an official side event at the summit.
The discussion will feature Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India; Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Alok Agrawal, Co-Founders of AI4India; and Ramanand, Director, CPRG, a key figure in AI governance and digital policy formulation. Other prominent speakers include Sean Dougherty, Senior Advisor at OECD, and Gunjan Bhardwaj, Co-Founder & CEO of Partex NV, who is pioneering AI-driven decision-making in healthcare and industry transformation.
Key Themes of the Discussion
Ramanand of CPRG outlined three central themes for the panel:
- Data Sovereignty and the Global South – Examining who controls data and how emerging economies can ensure equitable AI development.
- Reimagining Economics – Analyzing AI’s impact on global trade and economic resilience.
- Shaping the Workforce of Tomorrow – Addressing the transformation of labor markets in an AI-driven era.
Alok Agrawal of AI4India highlighted contributions from leading researchers such as Joel Ruet from CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CRG-i3, and Ravi Kaushik, Executive Director at the Center for Indo-European Cooperation, specializing in India-Europe AI collaborations. Sriram Subramanian, Founder of CloudDon, known for AI-led cloud computing innovations, will also be part of the discussions alongside Chetan Aggarwal, Visiting Fellow at CPRG, and Parikshit Dhume, an AI innovation expert.
India’s Role in Global AI Policy
In a curtain-raiser podcast ahead of the summit, AI4India co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati discussed with Indian journalist Milind Khandekar the importance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chairing the summit alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. Vempati emphasized the Data for Development theme and highlighted the AI4India initiative, “Data Daan,” which aims to create open and publicly accessible datasets for AI model development in India.
By bringing together a diverse array of AI and policy experts, the AI4India and CPRG panel discussion in Paris will set the stage for meaningful deliberations on cross-national policy coordination and bridging the global AI technology gap for universal benefits.