The Consulate General of India in New York, in collaboration with ReNew and the US-India Strategic and Partnership Forum (USISPF), hosted a roundtable on 'US India Partnership: Powering the AI Economy' on the margins of the UN General Assembly week. The discussion brought together more than 40 participants from industry, academia, investment, government and civil society.
The roundtable focused on strengthening cooperation in artificial intelligence, energy and digital infrastructure. Key participants included Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Santosh Kumar Sarangi, USISPF President and CEO Mukesh Aghi, World Bank Executive Director Neelkanth Mishra, ReNew Chairman and CEO Sumant Sinha and ReNew Co-founder Vaishali Nigam Sinha.
The discussion centered around four main areas: scaling data center and AI infrastructure investment across the US-India corridor, ensuring reliable and resilient power supply and grid readiness to meet AI-driven demand growth, mobilizing public, private, and blended capital for cross-border energy and digital infrastructure, and aligning policy, regulatory, and technology frameworks to accelerate bilateral cooperation.
A report titled "Powering the AI Age: India's Next Energy Export Opportunity" was launched on the occasion. This report likely highlights the potential for India to become a major player in the AI economy and the importance of energy and digital infrastructure in driving this growth.
The roundtable came at a time when External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called for greater cooperation among Global South countries to address rising geopolitical tensions, economic challenges, climate shocks and pressures on the multilateral system. Jaishankar emphasized the need for managing the transformations brought by Artificial Intelligence to prevent divisions.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has identified rapidly advancing technology, including AI, as one of the key challenges facing the international community. He welcomed the launch of the 'Call for Control of Frontier AI Models' led by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store, which calls for greater international cooperation on AI.
The 81st session of the UN General Assembly is being held under the theme "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All." The session has seen discussions on various pressing global issues, including AI, climate change, and economic inequality.
Key points
- The India-US roundtable discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in AI, energy, and digital infrastructure.
- The discussion focused on scaling data center and AI infrastructure investment, ensuring reliable power supply, and mobilizing capital for cross-border energy and digital infrastructure.
- The roundtable launched a report titled "Powering the AI Age: India's Next Energy Export Opportunity."
