India AI at Paris - 'Data for Development' takes centre stage at AI Action Summit 2025

New Delhi: As artificial intelligence continues to redefine global economies, India is taking a bold step in shaping the future of AI policy and governance. At the AI Action Summit Paris 2025, AI4India and the Center for Policy Research and Governance (CPRG) will co-host a pivotal panel discussion, "Data for Development: Building AI in the Global South." This session will bring together leading experts and policymakers to discuss AI’s transformative role in emerging economies.

AI4India and CPRG Unveil Speaker Lineup

As a curtain raiser to the event, AI4India and CPRG have announced the speakers for the panel discussion. As the only non-governmental organizations from India hosting an official side event at the summit, AI4India and CPRG will convene some of the world's foremost AI and policy experts.

The session 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 of CPRG, a key figure in AI governance and ethical AI adoption. Also joining the panel will be Sean Dougherty, Senior Advisor at OECD, a global AI governance expert, and Gunjan Bhardwaj, Co-Founder & CEO of Partex NV, a pioneer in AI-driven decision-making.

Key Themes of the Discussion 

Ramanand of CPRG outlined the three critical themes that will be explored during the discussion:

• Data sovereignty and the Global South: Addressing who controls data and ensuring equitable AI development for emerging economies.
• Reimagining economics: Analyzing AI’s impact on global trade and economic resilience.
• Shaping the workforce of tomorrow: Examining the transformation of labour markets in an AI-driven era.

Experts to Drive AI Policy and Innovation

AI4India Co-founder Alok Agrawal highlighted the diverse perspectives that eminent speakers will bring to the discussion. Among them are Joel Ruet from CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, CRG-i3, a leading researcher on AI’s economic transformation; Ravi Kaushik, Executive Director at the Center for Indo-European Cooperation, an expert on AI collaborations between India and Europe; and Sriram Subramanian, Founder of CloudDon, known for his contributions to AI-led innovation and cloud computing. The session will also feature insights from Chetan Aggarwal, Visiting Fellow at CPRG, and Parikshit Dhume, an AI innovation expert.

Podcast Highlights India's AI Vision

Ahead of the Paris AI Action Summit, AI4India.Org Co-founder Shashi Shekhar Vempati appeared on a curtain raiser podcast with noted Indian journalist and Managing Editor of Tak Channels, Milind Khandekar. They discussed the significance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi co-chairing the summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Vempati also elaborated on AI4India.Org’s "Data Daan" initiative, which is emerging as a movement towards creating open and publicly accessible datasets for AI model development in India.

Setting the Stage for Global AI Collaboration

By bringing together a diverse group of speakers from India and around the world, the AI4India.Org and CPRG side event in Paris will serve as a platform for crucial discussions. The event aims to coordinate policy actions between nations and bridge the technology gap to achieve the goal of AI for the universal global good.

(With ANI Inputs)