From ancient wisdom to AI: PM Modi charts India’s vision for a tech-forward world

JOHANNESBURG: The G20 Summit in Johannesburg drew global attention as leaders met for two days of intense diplomacy. India emerged as a central voice, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi outlining six major global initiatives that combined India's civilisational philosophy with modern challenges such as climate resilience, healthcare, AI governance and Africa's development.

Modi's proposals included creating a G20 Global Traditional Knowledge Repository, launching a G20-Africa Skills Multiplier Initiative, establishing a G20 Global Healthcare Response Team, forming a G20 initiative to counter the drug-terror nexus, building a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership and introducing a G20 Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative. Together, these initiatives presented a comprehensive vision for a more resilient and equitable global future.

In the session on inclusive and sustainable growth, Modi highlighted Africa's historic role as G20 host and said this was the right moment to rethink global development. Rooting India's approach in the principle of Integral Humanism, he described traditional medicinal knowledge as a form of "collective wisdom for good health." He emphasised India's partnership with Africa, noting that the Africa Skills Multiplier Initiative aims to train one million certified trainers over the next decade. Drawing on lessons from the pandemic and recent natural disasters, he called for a rapid-deployment G20 Healthcare Response Team. He also urged collective action against synthetic drugs such as fentanyl through a new initiative targeting the drug-terror nexus.

During discussions on disaster resilience and climate action, Modi underlined the need to democratise technology. He proposed a G20 Open Satellite Data Partnership to give Global South nations greater access to satellite imagery for disaster prediction, crop management and climate monitoring. He followed this with a Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative to promote recycling, urban mining and second-life batteries as part of clean-energy transitions. Modi also highlighted India's climate-adaptive efforts, including food security programmes and the global promotion of millets.

In the final session, focused on the future of technology, Modi called for human-centric and open-source AI, cautioning that AI misuse could deepen inequality and fuel cybercrime or terrorism. He said India's AI vision rests on equitable access, population-scale skilling and responsible deployment, and renewed India's call for a global AI compact along with strict norms to curb deepfakes and other abuses. He also confirmed that India will host the AI Impact Summit in February 2026. (ANI)

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