New Delhi uses technology as a foreign policy tool and positions itself as a moral voice for small developing countries
issued Sunday, February 22, 2026 · 07:11 PM
[NEW DELHI] In a world where geopolitical power is partly defined by the competition between the US and China for artificial intelligence (AI) supremacy, India has an advantage over the marginalized.
The South Asian giant lacks homegrown AI giants like OpenAI and Anthropic, nor the Chinese know-how and reserves of rare earth elements that power everything from chips to data centers.
Instead, India is using technology as a foreign policy tool, positioning itself as a moral voice for smaller developing countries in the Global South that may lack the resources to counter the AI storm that has hit the world.
At the AI Impact Summit held in New Delhi last week, attended by leaders of countries such as Spain, Bolivia, Mauritius and Sri Lanka, India emphasized that the main question is how AI should be managed and how it should be harnessed for the welfare of its citizens. It also dangled the information technology talent pool and huge domestic market as a test case for technology application.
In his speech at the summit, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi likened AI to nuclear power. Both, he said, are technologies with immense power for destruction, but also technologies that can be channeled for good. If AI becomes “directionless”, it will lead to destruction, PM Modi added. He pointed out that the core question is not what AI can do in the future, but what AI can do now to serve people.
Many analysts saw his approach as an attempt to make the most of a situation where India, like many other countries, does not have a clear advantage in a sector dominated by American and Chinese companies.
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“India is positioning itself as a distinct third path option, centered around the Global South and AI as a public good,” said Sushant Kumar Yaduka, a professor at the Jindal School of Government and Public Policy. He felt it “makes sense” for India to take this approach, rather than trying to join a “geopolitical and technological arms race” between China and the US.
“You can’t think about foreign policy without technology,” says Arun Teja Polkampally, a JSW science and technology fellow at the Asian Social Policy Research Institute. “India is demonstrating that it can be a trusted platform for emerging economies by laying the groundwork for responsible adoption of AI,” he added. new york times
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