New Delhi: Industry leader Chander Prakash Gurnani, Co-founder and Vice-Chairman of AionOS, outlined at the Republic India Economic Summit the defining factors driving India's dominance in the global AI race. He highlighted the importance of home-grown innovation, strong digital infrastructure, and large-scale talent development as strategic advantages over international competitors. Gurnani emphasised that India’s digital ecosystem and policy push uniquely position the country to lead AI-driven economic transformation and accelerate the vision of a stronger Bharat.
Speaking at the India Economic Summit 2025 at Republic Media Network Headquarters, CP Gurnani revealed why he started AionOS, an AI-first digital transformation company at the age of 66. He stated that he had an unfulfilled desire to create an institution that remains relevant for the future.
“I also wanted to highlight the role Artificial Intelligence (AI) would play in our lives, personally, professionally and also in building India,” he added.
Further highlighting the importance of AI, Gurnani said, “India developed its own vaccine that Krishna Ella (Co-Founder of Bharat Biotech) gave us the vaccine in a very short time because of the usage of AI and we in a way not only addressed our health issues but also helped many countries.”
Speaking on the impact of technology and AI on people's lives, CP Gurnani said, “The reality…Spotify now knows the 30 next songs that you want to listen and Netflix wants to recommend to you which movies to watch. So I think AI is now everywhere. AI is part of our lives.” “It is just that some us refuse to accept it,” he added.
Gurnani called the AI industry an “opportunity for India.” He stated, “It's a opportunity. An opportunity for India first to acknowledge that 2030 if you are going to be a 10 trillion dollar economy about 15% or 20% of that will come from digital economy.”
Speaking about how people can rise up to the opportunities provided by AI, Gurnani said, “Instead of saying AI will not impact me start believing that AI will impact each one of us. It doesn't matter whether you are in judiciary, it doesn't matter whether you are in education or in healthcare or in manufacturing you go around every industry. The fact is that it is there. The fact is that when a aircraft is flying we know there is AI inside. When we when we see a fighter jet we know it is an AI inside.”
“AI is equal to agriculture, AI is equal to education, AI is equal to water diagnostics, AI is equal to health diagnostics,” he further said.
Gurnani is the former CEO & Managing Director of Tech Mahindra.
The India Economic Summit 2025 is proudly presented by TVS Motor Company. This event is Co-Powered by Adani Group, and Nippon India Mutual Fund, and is held in association with Ravin Group, Bhutani Infra and ProstarM. The special partner for this summit is Engineers India Limited (EIL), and the state partner is the Haryana Government.
