The India AI Impact Summit 2026 saw several leaders and industry veterans share their take on the country’s adoption plan for AI applications and services. Among them was Infosys co-founder and Chairman Nandan Nilekani, who called on the country to shift its AI focus from competing in foundational model development to pioneering real-world applications.
Nilekani, who is widely regarded as the architect of India’s Aadhaar and Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), positioned India as the right country to become the “use case capital of the world” by utilising its proven expertise in scaling digital solutions at a massive population level. The discussion with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei centered on bridging the “diffusion gap” — the lag between AI’s rapid technical evolution and its slow adoption in enterprises and society.
India’s strength is in diffusion, not just innovation
Nilekani highlighted that while foundation model innovation moves at breathtaking speed, “diffusion is a different ball game.” He argued that India’s strength lies in large-scale deployment rather than just model-building.
“India will demonstrate this because we have the experience of diffusion at the population scale. It’s both an art and a science. It involves institutions, policy making, negotiations, dealing with incumbents, dealing with newcomers, the whole trust-building thing.”
Drawing from previous successes like Aadhaar and UPI, Nilekani stressed the need for India to prioritise “profound use cases” in high-impact sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture. He warned against potential pitfalls, stating, “We have to be careful that AI doesn’t just produce deepfakes or increase power bills without benefits,” which could spark a “white-collar backlash” similar to reactions against globalisation. Instead, he advocated for a “race to the top” where AI delivers tangible value and inclusion.
Nilekani also highlighted the importance of starting from the user. “AI must work for people, starting from the user and how we can improve their lives.” He expressed optimism on economic impact, stating, “I don’t know about 25%, if I get 10%, I’ll be happy,” in response to Amodei’s more bullish speculation that AI could drive 20-25% growth in India.
Championing the ‘100 Diffusion Pathways by 2030’ coalition
A key highlight was Nilekani’s strong endorsement of the newly launched “100 Diffusion Pathways by 2030” global coalition — involving Anthropic, Google, the Gates Foundation, UNDP, and others — aimed at creating packaged, replicable methods for AI deployment. These pathways incorporate technical guardrails, institutional buy-in, and data strategies, with examples like Maharashtra’s Agri-stack (Mahavistar) illustrating practical scaling.