Excessive focus on regulation will hamper India’s AI potential: Nasscom chief

“The best way to distract the government is to get them focused on regulation. It will take them years and years to figure out what to do and how to do it,” she said at an event in New Delhi.

According to an IBM report, less than 35% of companies worldwide are effectively utilising AI, which is a “terribly low number”, she said.

“If we continue to think of AI from the lens of fear, we are not going to start thinking about how to deploy this thing at scale and how to make it work,” Ghosh added.

“We should all be racing to figure out how do we unlock the potential of AI. It is not happening…because we are caught up in this massive debate of regulation. And frankly, none of us know what to regulate, because AI is changing on us,” Ghosh said.

In June last year, Nasscom released a set of guidelines outlining the “responsible” utilisation of generative artificial intelligence.

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ET had reported that the guidelines addressed obligations for researchers, developers and users of generative AI models and applications. They also highlighted the importance of conducting comprehensive risk assessments and maintaining internal oversight throughout the entire lifecycle of a generative AI solution.“We have to have a governance framework, but I think this is where the regulation mindset has to change. You cannot regulate for the next 50 years. At best you can regulate for the next five months,” Ghosh said, highlighting that the regulatory sandbox approach needs to be embraced as a mainstream regulation, not just as a proof of concept on the sidelines.

Last December, the European Union reached an agreement to regulate AI.

Indian AI startups are up against big technology firms like Microsoft and Google in the US and Baidu in China which are heavily invested in AI and leading the development of large language models, according to the ‘State of India’s Digital Economy, 2024’ report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

India’s contribution to the global AI market remains relatively low at 1%, as per a Nasscom report.

According to Sanjeev Bikhchandani, cofounder of Info Edge that owns platforms like Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com and 99Acres.com, AI remains a more attractive sector compared with deeptech, which includes segment such as internet of things, semiconductors and augmented and virtual reality. Deeptech requires patient funding due to returns taking around five years to materialise. Investors prefer to invest in companies where they can quickly see returns on their funds, Bikhchandani said at the same event.

On January 27, ET reported that Krutrim AI raised $50 million at a valuation of $1 billion, becoming India’s first unicorn startup of 2024 and the first homegrown AI firm to reach the milestone.

“The best way to distract the government is to get them focused on regulation. It will take them years and years to figure out what to do and how to do it,” she said at an event in New Delhi.

According to an IBM report, less than 35% of companies worldwide are effectively utilising AI, which is a “terribly low number”, she said.

“If we continue to think of AI from the lens of fear, we are not going to start thinking about how to deploy this thing at scale and how to make it work,” Ghosh added.

“We should all be racing to figure out how do we unlock the potential of AI. It is not happening…because we are caught up in this massive debate of regulation. And frankly, none of us know what to regulate, because AI is changing on us,” Ghosh said.

In June last year, Nasscom released a set of guidelines outlining the “responsible” utilisation of generative artificial intelligence.

Discover the stories of your interest

ET had reported that the guidelines addressed obligations for researchers, developers and users of generative AI models and applications. They also highlighted the importance of conducting comprehensive risk assessments and maintaining internal oversight throughout the entire lifecycle of a generative AI solution.“We have to have a governance framework, but I think this is where the regulation mindset has to change. You cannot regulate for the next 50 years. At best you can regulate for the next five months,” Ghosh said, highlighting that the regulatory sandbox approach needs to be embraced as a mainstream regulation, not just as a proof of concept on the sidelines.

Last December, the European Union reached an agreement to regulate AI.

Indian AI startups are up against big technology firms like Microsoft and Google in the US and Baidu in China which are heavily invested in AI and leading the development of large language models, according to the ‘State of India’s Digital Economy, 2024’ report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations.

India’s contribution to the global AI market remains relatively low at 1%, as per a Nasscom report.

According to Sanjeev Bikhchandani, cofounder of Info Edge that owns platforms like Naukri.com, Jeevansathi.com and 99Acres.com, AI remains a more attractive sector compared with deeptech, which includes segment such as internet of things, semiconductors and augmented and virtual reality. Deeptech requires patient funding due to returns taking around five years to materialise. Investors prefer to invest in companies where they can quickly see returns on their funds, Bikhchandani said at the same event.

On January 27, ET reported that Krutrim AI raised $50 million at a valuation of $1 billion, becoming India’s first unicorn startup of 2024 and the first homegrown AI firm to reach the milestone.