NEW DELHI: India is ready to collaborate with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on artificial intelligence (AI) capacity building, standards development and practical use cases, a senior official from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) said.
“Artificial intelligence will be a decisive force as we move from connectivity to intelligence. India is approaching AI with clear conviction. Innovation must be matched with responsibility, transparency and public trust,” said Amit Agrawal, Secretary, Dot Ministry.
Agrawal was speaking at the 6th ASEAN-India Digital Ministers (ADGMIN) meeting held virtually on Friday.
ADGMIN is an annual forum comprised of telecommunications and digital ministers from the 11 ASEAN Member States: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam, and ASEAN Dialogue Partners, including Australia, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
India is also an ASEAN dialogue partner.
The meeting was co-chaired by Agrawal and Vietnam’s Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Manh Hung, the Ministry of Communications said in an official statement.
The official added that India’s AI mission focuses on safe and reliable use of technology.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the IndiaAI Mission in March 2024 with a budgetary outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore over five years. Since its inception, the mission has made significant progress in expanding the country’s computing infrastructure.
From its initial goal of 10,000 graphics processing units (GPUs), India has now reached 38,000 GPUs, providing affordable access to AI resources for academia, researchers, institutions, and others.
Mr. Agrawal further reaffirmed India’s strong commitment to digital cooperation between ASEAN and India, saying, “We have jointly worked to narrow the digital divide, strengthen infrastructure, and make digital transformation a driver of inclusion, resilience, and economic growth.”
He cited India’s rapid digital transformation, including near-universal 4G coverage, the world’s fastest 5G rollout, expanding rural broadband connectivity through the BharatNet program, and the country’s emergence as a leading mobile manufacturing hub.
He also introduced India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) such as Aadhaar, UPI and DigiLocker as proven platforms for inclusive growth and efficient service delivery.
Agrawal, who took over as Telecom Secretary on January 1, 2026, also highlighted the Sanchar Saathi initiative for telecom user protection and fraud prevention, adding that India is ready to “share best practices with ASEAN partners”.
ASEAN-India Digital Work Plan 2026
The meeting welcomed the ASEAN-India Digital Work Plan for 2026. The plan includes an ICT training and capacity building program, an India-ASEAN Regulators Meeting; Development of communication ICT solutions.
The meeting also welcomed the launch of the special “ASEAN-India Fund for a Digital Future”.
At the meeting, India and ASEAN reaffirmed their shared vision to build an open, secure, inclusive and innovation-driven digital ecosystem to support mutual growth and regional prosperity, the ministry added.
