India's demographic advantage and diverse economic landscape position it uniquely to benefit from AI, the Economic Survey for 2024-25 tabled in the Parliament on Friday afternoon asserted. However, achieving these benefits requires significant investments in education and workforce skilling, supported by enabling, insuring, and stewarding institutions, the state of the economy report tabled by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
rediffGURU Chocko Valliappa counsels students how to choose the right course and career after Class 12.
The underrepresentation of women in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) poses a significant risk of perpetuating the prevailing societal biases into future technologies, according to a top Microsoft executive. Himani Agrawal, chief partner officer, Microsoft India and South Asia, believes that inclusion is a shared responsibility and if AI continues to be shaped without diverse perspectives, the biases of today risk becoming hardwired into the technology of tomorrow.
'The country is a good test bed for enterprise adoption, but to scale rapidly, companies will need to look outside the country for customers.'
If students use AI as an answer machine, they are not going to learn, cautions OpenAI's Leah Belsky.
'It flows through families, caste groups, and local WhatsApp communities where trust is personal.' 'Children are taught to defer to elders, so if a parent or uncle forwards something, you don't question it.'
Eighteen-year-old Adarsh Kumar from India, who founded Skillzo, a skill-building and mentorship start-up for less privileged students, is the winner of the Chegg Global Student Prize this year.
Global tech giants surprisingly prefer skills over IIT and IIM tags which no longer guarantee entry into the world's most innovative workplaces.
Two modules published by the NCERT, Swadeshi: Vocal for Local (for middle stage) and Swadeshi: For a Self-Reliant India (for secondary stage), carry excerpts from the prime minister's Independence Day address in which he stressed that self-reliance would drive India's journey towards a Viksit Bharat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Ethiopia on a bilateral visit, engaging with Ethiopian leadership to strengthen partnerships in various sectors. He was warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali and participated in cultural events, highlighting the strong ties between the two nations.
This was perhaps a missed opportunity for India to spotlight a core domestic challenge: The scale of workforce preparation required for a young, populous, rapidly growing country seeking to reach net zero, points out Radha Roy Biswas.
With a confident new generation of innovators, India now has the scale and self-belief to shape its own digital destiny marked by creation, observes Ajay Kumar chairman, UPSC.
The TIME 100 AI list is an interesting assortment of titans. Indians make up about 20 per cent of the coveted list, which is pretty commendable, notes Sandeep Goyal.
Lieutenant Colonel C Dwarakesh is the only completely blind officer to continue in the Indian Army after losing his eyesight while in service. In his remarkable journey after disability, he enhanced his education qualification, scaled the Siachen Glacier and found purpose in sport.
'We sent just 500 people from India to the US on H-1B visas. There is no dependence on H-1B visas.'
'The battle for brain power among Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Nvidia and Tesla and newer AI companies is fierce.' 'Given the race for AI with China, these companies will find it hard pressed to fill that talent gap,' notes an IT professional based in the US.
'In the long run, India's strong growth story and reforms to make assets globally attractive will determine the rupee's resilience.'
The purpose for which AI should be used cannot be left to AI developers, asserts Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta (retd).
Yamuna Kalyani reveals how she battled stereotypes to build UniteAR, an augmented reality platform that helps users create interactive AR experiences for personal and commercial purposes.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated for a global framework for artificial intelligence (AI) based on open source, emphasizing the need for trust, transparency, and the elimination of biases. Co-chairing the AI Action Summit with French President Emmanuel Macron, Modi highlighted the transformative potential of AI across various domains, including politics, economics, security, and society. He stressed the importance of democratizing technology, addressing concerns about cyber security and disinformation, and developing quality data sets free from biases. Modi also acknowledged the need for open-source AI ecosystems to foster trust and transparency, while emphasizing the importance of localized technology for effectiveness and usefulness. Recognizing the potential of AI to improve health, education, and agriculture, Modi proposed pooling resources and talent to leverage the technology for sustainable development goals. Addressing concerns about job displacement, he emphasized that while the nature of work may evolve, technology creates new opportunities. Modi highlighted India's leadership in AI adoption and data privacy solutions, emphasizing the nation's readiness to share its expertise and contribute to an AI future that benefits all.
A startling United Nations study finds that only 10 per cent of students in India ever access professional career counselling.
'Integrated with sensors, cameras, Nvidia Jetson processors, LiDAR technology and AI model computation, the glasses provide a real-time interpretation of the environment and the individual's surroundings.'
Though the oldest Alphas are just turning 15 in 2025, they're already more digitally fluent than any generation before, points out Sandeep Goyal.
The reduction in goods & services tax (GST) on individual life and health insurance premiums has been called a "landmark step" for making insurance affordable and inclusive. In a panel discussion at the Business Standard BFSI Insight Summit 2025, Anup Bagchi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO) of ICICI Prudential Life Insurance; Mahesh Balasubramanian, MD & CEO of Kotak Life Insurance; Tarun Chugh, MD & CEO of Bajaj Life Insurance; and Ratnakar Patnaik, MD of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), listed what else the industry needs to reach more people.
Fresher hiring grew by 8 per cent driven by non-IT services oil and gas, real estate, and education sectors.
From dubbing voices to putting faces with the help of AI, political campaigns are undergoing a Bollywood makeover. Among the favourites is a scene from the Anil Kapoor-starrer Nayak, posted by the BJP, where Kapoor asks about the Chunaavi Vaade (poll promise), with Arvind Kejriwal at the receiving end instead of Amrish Puri.
'Government officials use Gmail and ordinary phones without basic security consciousness.' 'Interoperability, especially in joint exercises with countries like the US, worries me.' 'It often means we open our systems to them, but they don't reciprocate.' 'They could have kill switches in their systems and might even be able to affect ours.'
'I will not be surprised if there is a 7 per cent handle in front of the decimal place for the full financial year.'
A native of Mandangad in coastal Ratnagiri district, the Songhare family had moved to Mumbai for work and shifted to Dombivli two years ago.
Budget 2025 lays down a transformational roadmap for India's digital and economic future, focusing on AI-driven enterprise modernisation, workforce skilling, and sustainable innovation. With bold investments in AI, digital infrastructure, and ease of doing business, the government has set the stage for businesses to scale, innovate and compete on a global level.
He said that as compared to global models costing 2.5 to 3 US dollars per hour usage, India's AI model will cost less than less than Rs 100 per hour (1.16 US dollars per hour) after 40 percent government subsidy.
'He is a man of action and goes to the ground and solves the problem.' 'Be it the Air India crash of Ahmedabad, Morbi bridge collapse, Deesa blast or Gambhira bridge collapse, he is on the spot.'
Information technology (IT) services major Infosys on Wednesday announced the formation of a joint venture (JV) with Telstra, Australia's leading telecommunications and technology company. This will allow Infosys to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled cloud and digital solutions for Australian businesses.
Can change happen? Not unless the changemakers themselves want it since they benefit the most from the status quo, warns Biswajit Dasgupta.
'10 million Indians are currently living with dementia, and the number is expected to double by 2036.'
More Indians start car shopping online, pushing automakers and dealers to respond quickly, train staff, and use AI to turn clicks into showroom visits.
An initiative of Nandan Nilekani's EkStep Foundation, people+ai on Tuesday unveiled its vision for the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in India, dubbed 'Adbhut India' (Amazing India). It aims to harness AI as a powerful tool to enhance the lives of all Indians. The event marked the rollout of several initiatives by people+ai that are focused on discovering, demonstrating, and disseminating population-scale AI use cases for India.
'One day my neighbour in Denver called me and said, "I think somebody is casing your house. So should I call the cops?"... they were scared that people case your house and then rob it.' 'And I said, "no, no, no. It's just that I am an actress".'
In a question-answer session lasting two-and-a-half hours, Bhagwat responded to questions ranging from Manusmriti to AI, tariffs to caste, education, patriotism, national language, Partition, illegal immigration, attacks on Muslims, and the age of retirement for politicians.
'The Bhashini Mission has delivered a working technology at large scale, which is as good as or better than the one with MNC tech giants.'
