Nandan Nilekani Highlights AI and Reforms as Key to Achieving 8% Growth for India
Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys, spoke at the Raisina Dialogue about India’s potential to achieve 8% growth. He emphasized using AI on a large scale for areas like education, healthcare, and language, ensuring it’s accessible and low-cost. Nilekani also advocated for Indian companies to leverage their data to access credit through the account aggregator system, which could democratize financial services. He highlighted tokenization technologies that could make land fungible, unlocking financial opportunities.
He called for spreading entrepreneurship beyond major cities and formalizing the economy by simplifying regulations and reducing compliance. He suggested deregulating businesses and decriminalizing laws. Nilekani believes with these reforms, India’s economy, already growing at 6%, can easily reach 8%. He also pointed out the growth in telecom and fintech, which is benefiting even remote parts of India, alongside improvements in infrastructure like roads and airports.
Nandan Nilekani Highlights AI and Reforms as Key to Achieving 8% Growth for India
Nandan Nilekani, the Co-Founder and Chairman of Infosys, recently shared his thoughts on India’s economic growth potential at the Raisina Dialogue. He believes that India can achieve an 8% growth rate by leveraging technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), to benefit a large portion of the population. Nilekani highlighted India’s track record of using technology on a massive scale and suggested that AI should now be applied in key areas like education, healthcare, and language. However, he stressed that these AI solutions must be affordable and accessible to everyone.
One of the key points Nilekani discussed was the importance of using India’s own data to improve access to credit. He mentioned the account aggregator system, a framework that allows individuals and businesses to share their financial data securely with lenders. Currently, only 10% of personal loans in India use this system, but expanding its reach could make financial services more inclusive. Nilekani also talked about the potential of tokenization, a technology that could allow people to use land as collateral for loans. Since a significant portion of India’s wealth is tied up in land, which is often not easily tradable or usable for credit, tokenization could unlock this wealth and help more people access financial resources.
In addition to technological advancements, Nilekani emphasized the need to spread entrepreneurship beyond major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore. He believes that fostering a culture of innovation and business creation in smaller towns and rural areas is crucial for India’s growth. To support this, he called for simplifying regulations, reducing the compliance burden on businesses, and making laws easier to understand. These changes, he argued, would encourage more people to start businesses and help formalize the economy, which is currently dominated by informal sectors.
Nilekani also pointed out that India’s infrastructure has seen significant improvements in recent years. Roads, airports, and ports are being upgraded, and sectors like telecom and fintech are growing rapidly. These advancements are not just limited to urban areas; they are reaching even the most remote parts of the country. For example, mobile connectivity and digital payment systems have transformed the lives of millions, enabling them to access services and opportunities that were previously out of reach.
He acknowledged that India’s economy is already growing at a rate of 6%, but with the right reforms and policies, it could easily reach 8%. Nilekani’s vision is to create a more inclusive and efficient economy where technology plays a central role in solving problems and improving lives. By making AI tools accessible, expanding financial services, and supporting entrepreneurship across the country, he believes India can unlock its full potential.
In summary, Nandan Nilekani’s message at the Raisina Dialogue was clear: India has the tools and the talent to achieve higher economic growth. By focusing on technology, financial inclusion, and entrepreneurship, while also simplifying regulations and improving infrastructure, the country can create a more prosperous future for all its citizens. His ideas highlight the importance of innovation and inclusivity in driving India’s growth story forward.