Keynote-N Chandrasekaran
19 Feb 2026 09:45h - 10:00h
Keynote-N Chandrasekaran
Summary
Natarajan Chandrasekaran opened the AI Summit by greeting world leaders and emphasizing the event’s significance [1][2]. He described India as a nation of AI optimists, noting the country’s ambitious digital infrastructure such as the world’s largest digital identity system and a payment network handling half of global transactions [3][7-8]. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision, AI has been treated as a strategic national capability, with coordinated efforts across chips, systems, energy and applications through initiatives like Semicon India and the India AI Mission [9-10]. Chandrasekaran argued that AI is a foundational technology that “learns from data,” scales rapidly, and is not based on artificial rules [11][12-17]. He said the next big infrastructure should be AI that works for every individual and citizen, putting tools in the hands of ordinary people [19-21]. As evidence, he highlighted a recent workshop where 1,500 rural women with no prior digital experience learned to build AI-driven products and marketing materials within four hours [22-24]. He projected that AI will dramatically improve public-service delivery and transform enterprises worldwide [24-26]. Drawing on his IT background, Chandrasekaran identified the biggest opportunity for the tech sector as integrating AI agents into enterprise workflows to re-imagine processes and create competitive moats [26-30]. He then outlined Tata Group’s AI strategy, stating that the conglomerate is adopting AI across the stack-from silicon to AI-ready data centres and applications [31-34]. The group announced India’s first large-scale AI-optimized data centre, a 100-megawatt facility that will eventually scale to one gigawatt, built in partnership with OpenAI and AMD [36-38]. Tata is also developing an AI data-insights platform based on diverse Indian datasets, an AI operating system for industry, and domain-specific AI-optimized chips beginning with the automotive sector [39-42][43-48][49-50]. Chandrasekaran concluded that the world is entering an “age of abundant intelligence” where trust, stewardship and human capability are the scarce resources, calling for a responsible AI decade [53-56]. He urged that promises be turned into action to deliver prosperity for India and the global community [52][57].
Keypoints
– India’s national AI ambition and foundational digital infrastructure – The speaker frames India as an “AI-optimist” nation that has built the world’s largest digital identity system and a digital payment network handling half of global transactions, and stresses that AI is treated as a strategic capability spanning chips, systems, energy and applications [3-10].
– AI as a tool for every citizen and public service transformation – The vision is to make AI work for every individual, illustrated by a recent event where 1,500 rural women with no prior computing background learned to create AI-driven products and marketing campaigns within hours, underscoring AI’s potential to reshape public services and enterprises [19-24].
– Tata Group’s concrete AI initiatives
– Large-scale AI-optimized data centre: partnership with OpenAI for a 100 MW facility (scalable to 1 GW) [36-38].
– AI data-insights platform: built on diverse Indian data sets to deliver intelligence across local contexts [39-42].
– AI operating system for industry: collaboration between TCS and Tata Communications to deliver agentic solutions for all sectors [43-48].
– Domain-specific AI chips: plans to develop AI-optimized semiconductors, starting with the automotive sector [49-51].
– Call to translate promise into action and establish AI stewardship – The conclusion urges moving from vision to practice, emphasizing trust, stewardship, human capability, and a “simple standard for the AI decade” that balances dignity, impact per watt, and collaborative progress [52-56].
Overall purpose – The address aims to position India as a global AI leader, showcase the government’s strategic framework, announce major private-sector (Tata Group) investments and partnerships, and rally stakeholders to collaborate in building trustworthy, high-impact AI infrastructure that benefits the entire nation.
Overall tone – The speech maintains a consistently upbeat and visionary tone, beginning with broad optimism about India’s AI future, shifting to concrete, celebratory announcements of partnerships and projects, and concluding with a rallying, purpose-driven call to action. The tone remains enthusiastic throughout, moving from aspirational rhetoric to tangible commitments.
Speakers
– Natarajan Chandrasekaran
– Areas of expertise: Artificial Intelligence, digital infrastructure, semiconductor technology, enterprise transformation, technology strategy
– Roles and titles: Chairman, Tata Group; Chairman of Tata Sons; leader of Tata Group’s AI initiatives and AI-optimized data center program [S1][S2]
Additional speakers:
– (none identified)
Natarajan Chandrasekaran opened the AI Summit by greeting the Prime Minister, heads of state, policy-makers and the audience, calling the gathering an “extraordinary privilege” and positioning India as a nation of AI optimists [1-5].
He highlighted India’s digital foundations: the world’s largest digital identity system covering 1.4 billion people, a digital-payments network that processes roughly half of global transactions, and strategic programmes such as Semicon India, the India AI Mission and the recent Shanti Act for clean energy [6][7-8][9-10].
Chandrasekaran defined AI as “real” because it learns from data and improves continuously, not from static artificial rules, and noted that this data-driven learning enables rapid scaling, making AI the “next big infrastructure” for the nation [11-17].
His vision is to make AI an infrastructure that works for every individual and citizen. He illustrated this with a recent workshop at Bharat Mandapam where 1,500 rural women, previously unfamiliar with computing, learned AI tools, built products and marketing campaigns, and presented them to a global audience-all within four hours [19-24][13]. He added, “We should put the AI tools in the hands of the lost person, in the country, and in fact on the earth.” [13] He argued that such empowerment will transform public-service delivery and drive enterprise innovation across the country [24-26].
Drawing on his IT-industry background, he said the sector’s core value lies in understanding each enterprise’s business and technology landscape and embedding the right technology within processes and ecosystems. AI will expand this role by integrating AI agents into workflows, re-imagining processes and helping firms build sustainable competitive moats [26-30].
Turning to the Tata Group, he explained that the conglomerate is adopting AI across the full stack-from silicon to systems, AI-ready data centres, applications and AI agents-and is partnering with global leaders to accelerate the journey [31-34].
He announced five concrete initiatives [31-34]:
1. Establishing a large-scale AI-optimised data centre – India’s first purpose-built AI training and inference facility, initially 100 MW in partnership with OpenAI, with a roadmap to 1 GW [36-38].
2. Building an AI data-insights platform – layered on diverse Indian data sets and foundational models, delivering intelligence that reflects the country’s varied contexts (as articulated by Minister Ashwini) [39-42][15].
3. Creating an AI operating system for industry – a joint effort by TCS and Tata Communications to deliver agentic, industry-specific solutions; the platform is already under development [43-48].
4. Designing domain-centric AI chips – AI-optimised semiconductors tailored to specific industries, with the first rollout aimed at the automotive sector [49-51].
5. Partnering across the end-to-end AI stack – integrating AI from silicon through applications and agents, working with world-leading partners in India and abroad [31-34].
He concluded that we are at a defining moment – the “age of abundant intelligence” where the scarce resources are trust, stewardship and human capability. He called for a simple standard for the AI decade that couples capability with dignity, maximises impact per watt of energy, and advances through agency and collaboration [52-56][57].
Honourable Prime Minister, Sri Narendra Modi ji, Excellencies, Heads of State, Policy Makers and Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen. It is an extraordinary privilege to be here this morning and participate in this AI Summit. India is a nation of AI optimists. Our enthusiasm is not surprising. Indians have witnessed the hugely ambitious development of AI. They are committed to developing the most ambitious digital infrastructure programs and what they can achieve. The largest digital identity system in the world. covering 1 .4 billion people. A digital payment interface that accounts for half of the entire world’s transactions. Over the past few years, under our Honorable Prime Minister’s vision, India has treated AI as a strategic national capability, aligning the full stack from chips to systems to energy and to applications.
Through Semicon India and India AI Mission, and most importantly, the recent reforms such as the Shanti Act for clean energy, we are building AI at scale with trust, resilience, and long -term competitiveness. AI. is a foundational technology that cuts across all industries. AI. AI is nothing artificial, it is real. Because it learns from data and learns faster every day. And it is… AI is nothing artificial, it is real. Because it learns from data and learns faster every day. And it is not based on artificial rules. Third, AI can scale pretty rapidly. Putting all together, to my mind, is the next big infrastructure. Our mission as a infrastructure should be to make AI work for every individual and every citizen in this country.
We should put the AI tools in the hands of the lost person, in the country, and in fact on the earth. And that’s the vision… that we should all work towards. A couple of days ago, we witnessed 1 ,500 rural women here in Bharat Mandapam who had no background to computing, no background to digital tools. In a matter of few hours, could learn AI, could build products, could build marketing materials, campaigns, all in front of a global audience, and they did it in four hours. AI will have huge impact on our public services delivery. It will have huge impact on enterprises around the world. Since I come from the background of IT industry, one word for the IT industry, it is…
In my opinion, the biggest opportunity for the tech sector and the IT industry. Because the IT industry’s real value is the context and understanding of every enterprise’s business and technology landscape and make the right technology work inside the processes and the ecosystem, the supplier, customer, and all the other connections an enterprise has. AI will expand that role much further. It is the opportunity to integrate AI and AI agents into workflows, reimagine processes, and make it work and carry out the transformation so that every enterprise can realize the moat and realize its vision. Now I want to talk a little bit about the Tata Group. At the Tata Group, we are a… We are adopting AI across the stack, from silicon to system…
to AI -ready data centers, to applications, and AI agents. And we believe such a vision and such a journey is going to be extremely exciting, and it will require us to work with world -leading partners in India and across the globe. I would like to make five points. The Tata Group is establishing India’s first large -scale AI -optimized data center, purpose -built for the next -generation AI training and inference. I’m very happy to announce that we have partnered with OpenAI to build the first 100 -megawatt capacity, which will scale to 1 gigawatt. And we made an announcement with AMD yesterday, where we will combine the world -class AI -packed architecture with the world -class AI -optimized architecture, with Tata’s strength in…
infrastructure, engineering, power, and solution capabilities to create a sustainable high -density AI capacity in India for global standards. The third, we are already building an AI data insights platform. Minister Ashwini articulated the layers of data architectures. What we are building is totally based on diverse Indian data sets on top of the foundational models. So intelligence becomes available across the diversity of Indian contexts. And the fourth, TCS and our other company, Tata Communications, together, we are building an AI operating system for industry. So, what we are doing is we are building a TCS and Tata Communications. And what we are doing is we are building a TCS and Tata Communications. And what we are doing is we are building a TCS and Tata Communications.
And what we are doing is we are building a TCS and Tata Communications. build agentic industry solutions for every industry. We are already well on that journey, and we will work with partners to be able to launch it and take it to all enterprises around the globe. And finally, again, I want to thank the vision of our Prime Minister, which made it possible for us to make a serious foray into chips and semiconductors. What we will do next is to build chips that are very domain -centric, which will be totally AI -optimized for every industry, and we will first launch or work towards getting it ready for the automotive sector. So these are the areas that…
I think it is the time for promise to take action. into practice so that we can deliver prosperity. Finally, in conclusion, I just want to say that we are standing here at a very defining moment. It is the age of abundant intelligence where the scarce resources are trust, stewardship, and human capability. So let us send out a simple standard for the AI decade. Capability with dignity, high impact for every watt of energy, and progress with agency and collaboration. Thank you all very much.
“Natarajan Chandrasekaran opened the AI Summit by greeting the Prime Minister, heads of state, policy‑makers and the audience, calling the gathering an “extraordinary privilege”.”
The keynote transcript records Chandrasekaran addressing the Honourable Prime Minister and other dignitaries and stating “it is an extraordinary privilege to be here” [S2].
“India’s digital identity system is the world’s largest, covering 1.4 billion people.”
Aadhaar is described as serving 1.3 to 1.4 billion people, making it the world’s largest digital ID system [S82].
“AI should be democratized and put in the hands of many people.”
The plenary notes that AI must be democratized and tools placed in the hands of lots of people [S1].
“Data‑driven learning enables rapid scaling, making AI the “next big infrastructure” for the nation.”
Background material describes AI as embedded in everyday life and driven by data, supporting the view of AI as a foundational infrastructure [S85].
“AI agents will be integrated into enterprise workflows, re‑imagining processes and helping firms build sustainable competitive moats.”
Analyses of 2026 trends note that agentic AI is transforming enterprise workflows and decision-making [S96].
“The Tata Group is establishing India’s first large‑scale AI‑optimised data centre.”
The keynote lists Tata Group’s plan to establish India’s first large-scale AI-optimized data centre [S81].
“The data centre will initially be 100 MW, built in partnership with OpenAI, with a roadmap to 1 GW.”
The source confirms the establishment of a large-scale AI data centre by Tata, but does not specify capacity, partnership with OpenAI, or a 1 GW roadmap [S81].
The transcript presents a highly coherent set of positions: AI is framed as a strategic national capability supported by massive digital infrastructure; it is portrayed as a catalyst for citizen empowerment, public‑service improvement, and enterprise competitiveness; the Tata Group’s concrete initiatives (data centre, hardware partnerships, data platforms, operating system, domain‑specific chips) are positioned as direct implementations of the national strategy; and the speaker underscores ethical imperatives—trust, stewardship, human capability—and proposes a concise AI‑decade standard.
Because all points are voiced by a single speaker, internal consensus is complete and deliberate, signalling a unified policy‑industry narrative that could drive coordinated action across government, industry and civil society.
The transcript consists solely of remarks by Natarajan Chandrasekaran; no other speakers are present, so there are no observable points of disagreement or partial agreement between participants.
Minimal – essentially none, indicating a unilateral presentation rather than a contested debate.
The speech’s most impactful moments stem from Chandrasekaran’s ability to interweave visionary statements with concrete examples and commitments. Early reframing of AI as ‘real’ set a philosophical baseline, while the anecdote of rural women learning AI democratized the narrative. Subsequent remarks transitioned the discussion from abstract potential to tangible infrastructure projects—large‑scale data centers, an industry AI operating system, and custom AI chips—signaling India’s strategic move toward end‑to‑end AI sovereignty. The final emphasis on trust, stewardship, and human capability reframed the conversation around responsible AI, ensuring that the technical ambitions are anchored in ethical considerations. Collectively, these comments redirected the dialogue from generic optimism to actionable, inclusive, and responsible AI development, shaping the overall direction and tone of the summit.
Disclaimer: This is not an official session record. DiploAI generates these resources from audiovisual recordings, and they are presented as-is, including potential errors. Due to logistical challenges, such as discrepancies in audio/video or transcripts, names may be misspelled. We strive for accuracy to the best of our ability.
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