India’s AI Gambit: The Choices That Will Define Power

Every country is adopting AI.

Very few are asking what kind of AI power they want to become.

As AI reshapes markets, institutions and state capacity, what strategic choices must India make?

Since Monday, we’ve been sharing curated video excerpts on LinkedIn as part of our special coverage ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 (Feb 19–20).

These conversations draw from India’s AI Gambit — a closed-door strategic dialogue convened at the India International Centre in January by NatStrat, in partnership with Strategic Foresight Group and Founding Fuel. A special policy report titled India’s AI Gambit, authored by the Strategic Foresight Group, was released on the occasion.

The dialogue brought together voices from national security, science, policy and academia to examine the deeper institutional and strategic choices India now faces.

Over the week, we distilled the most consequential ideas.

Key Themes

1. Strategic Autonomy in a US–China AI World

“A duality of AI capabilities is emerging between the United States and China. The choices we make today will shape ethics, privacy, jobs — and security.”
 — Ambassador Pankaj Saran, Former Deputy National Security Adviser; Convenor, NatStrat

→ Watch a clip from his opening address

“Strategic autonomy does not mean isolation. AI thrives on collaboration. The challenge is balancing openness with control.”
 — Dr. V. K. Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog; Former Director General, DRDO

→ Watch a clip from his keynote

2. AI for Power: Scientific Discovery & Global Leverage

“The US and China are building AI for scientific discovery — new rules in biology and chemistry. They fear falling behind in science. We think we are doing fine.”
 — Sundeep Waslekar, President, Strategic Foresight Group

→ Watch a clip from his talk

3. Who Should Drive India’s AI Strategy?

“AI is interdisciplinary. One AI rule cannot work. Sectoral regulators must adapt — coordinated through a whole-of-government approach.”
 — Dr. Preeti Banzal, Senior Scientist & Adviser, Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Govt. of India

“Centralized control. Decentralized execution. Without coherence, we fragment. Without flexibility, we slow down.”
 — Air Marshal S. P. Dharkar (Retd.), Former Vice Chief of the Air Staff

“Leverage will not come from perfect AI, but from scale. India must become an AI OEM — not just a services economy.”
 — Prof. Manan Suri, Professor, IIT Delhi

→ Watch the integrated strategic dialogue moderated by Anirudh Suri, policy analyst and author

4. Security, Trust & Governance

“We must evaluate foundational models, standardize adoption, and build assurance systems. The balance between sovereignty and trusted outreach will define our diplomacy.”
 — Shri Alok Joshi, Chairman, National Security Advisory Board

→ Watch his strategic synthesis

Dig Deeper

• Watch the full event on YouTube—chapterised by segment, including a collective audience reflection.
• Read the Special Policy Report by Strategic Foresight Group
  “India’s AI Gambit: Navigating the Global Race”
  • A Strategic Brief distilling the report’s core arguments. Click here to read (Read time: 3 minutes).
  • Read the full report here (pdf)