World Bank urges India to expand existing AI tools and target selective frontier projects

India should prioritize scaling existing artificial intelligence applications while investing selectively in frontier AI projects, the World Bank advised. Senior Economist Vincent Belinga told ANI that the country needs a three‑stage path: first adopting current AI tools, then adapting open‑source models to local needs, and finally developing cutting‑edge models only where it has an advantage. He said adoption is rising but still limited, and millions of firms and workers could become more productive if AI use broadens. Belinga noted that promising small‑scale AI solutions already exist in education and health, but many are confined to single states or remain pilots. The World Bank report cites examples such as Bhashini and AI4Bharat for multilingual services, DIKSHA for personalised learning, the KATHIR and PM‑KISAN chatbots for agriculture, and AI‑assisted tuberculosis screening from chest X‑rays. Spreading such tools across all sectors is seen as more valuable than gains from a few industries. The Bank estimates that 14 % of Indian workers are in jobs where AI can boost productivity, and that AI could lift annual labour‑productivity growth by 0.1‑0.8 percentage points over the next decade. Belinga warned that frontier model development is resource‑intensive; the United States is pouring billions into it, and India should focus its limited funds on areas where it holds a comparative edge. The overall goal, he said, is to ensure AI adoption across education, healthcare, agriculture, finance and IT so the productivity boost is economy‑wide.

Context

AI adoption can help India meet its growth targets by improving efficiency in labour‑intensive sectors. Emphasising small, locally‑adapted tools reflects the need to balance limited resources with rapid digital transformation.