Achievement: India’s first-ever 3D Flex Aqueous Angiography combined with iStent surgery.
Technology used:
Stand-mounted Spectralis system for advanced imaging
State-of-the-art 3D operating microscope for surgical precision
Significance
Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness due to its silent progression.
This procedure enables real-time visualization of aqueous outflow pathways, critical for precision glaucoma surgery.
Integration with iStent (a minimally invasive glaucoma surgery device) allows:
Targeted intervention
Enhanced intraoperative imaging
Better long-term patient outcomes
Impact on Indian Ophthalmology
First-of-its-kind procedure in India.
Sets a benchmark in glaucoma care.
Positions the Armed Forces Medical Services at the forefront of global ophthalmic innovation.
Benefits for Armed Forces personnel:
Safeguards vision
Supports operational readiness
Broader Implications
Demonstrates India’s capability in advanced ophthalmic surgical technologies.
Paves the way for future minimally invasive glaucoma surgeries with real-time imaging.
Enhances India’s medical research and clinical care standards in ophthalmology.
Open access to AI infrastructure is essential for India’s AI ecosystem
1. Core Argument of the Working Paper
The Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) argues that democratising access to AI infrastructure is essential for India’s AI ecosystem.
AI development should not be restricted to large corporations or major urban hubs.
Foundational AI resources—compute power, high-quality datasets, and enabling tools—must be made widely accessible so that diverse actors can build, test, and deploy AI responsibly.
2. Strategic Context: India and Global AI Power Concentration
The paper is released as India prepares to host the AI Impact Summit in February, giving it international relevance.
Indian policymakers are concerned about the global concentration of AI infrastructure in the hands of Western technology giants.
Such concentration risks:
Market monopolisation
Geopolitical dependency
Reduced innovation from smaller players and developing economies
3. Government Response: IndiaAI Mission
Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government has already begun addressing these concerns.
Thousands of GPUs (Graphics Processing Units)—a critical AI infrastructure component—have been made available to:
Researchers
Startups
Domestic AI developers
This reflects a shift toward state-enabled AI capacity building rather than reliance on foreign cloud providers.
4. Role of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)
The working paper urges deeper integration of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) into AI systems.
DPIs include:
Aadhaar (digital identity)
UPI (digital payments)
Governance and public service platforms
These systems are positioned as:
A template for other developing countries
A way to enable inclusive AI development by giving smaller players access to trusted, scalable datasets and platforms
5. Sustainability and Resource Efficiency Concerns
The paper highlights resource efficiency as a major challenge in AI expansion.
Key sustainability concerns include:
AI data centres may require 45–50 million square feet of additional real estate by 2030
Data centres currently consume ~0.5% of India’s total electricity
This share could rise to nearly 3% by 2030 due to increased AI workloads
The PSA stresses the need to:
Integrate sustainability planning with compute expansion
Contribute to less energy-intensive AI infrastructure globally
6. Sectoral Focus: Agriculture and Education
The report calls for ecosystem-wide efforts to expand access to data and computing in priority sectors.
Agriculture and education are highlighted as:
High-impact areas for AI adoption
Sectors where inclusive access could deliver broad socio-economic benefits
This aligns AI policy with developmental goals, not just commercial or strategic ones.
7. Broader Implications
India is positioning itself as:
A leader in inclusive and responsible AI
A counterweight to AI centralisation in the Global North
The approach blends:
Industrial policy (GPU access, infrastructure)
Digital governance (DPI)
Sustainability considerations
If successful, this model could influence AI governance frameworks in other developing economies.
