Karan Adani, Vishal Sikka, Sunil Munjal attends AIMA Platinum Jubilee celebrations
India is an important and powerful enough country to need its own stack of AI technologies over time, though there is no harm in India using somebody else’s pieces in its AI framework, said Vishal Sikka, Founder and CEO, Vianai Systems and Former, CEO & Managing Director, Infosys. However, he warned that India must not depend on others for AI that it does not understand or on which it does not have the regulatory rights.
Sikka addressed India’s management leaders on India’s AI imperative at the 70th Foundation Day programmes of All India Management Association (AIMA). Speaking at an interaction hosted at AIMA platinum jubilee celebrations, Karan Adani, Managing Director (MD) of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), outlined the Adani Group’s evolving capital allocation strategy.
Karan Adani was in conversation with Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman of Hero Enterprise and Past President of AIMA.
Sikka argued that it is not divinely ordained that AI is created and rationed by a few. He pointed out that currently only 250,000 people operate the global AI system, with only about 5000 people building the foundation models and just 1000 working in AI’s frontier labs, said AIMA Press release.
On defence participation, Karan said indigenisation is a strategic national objective. He pointed to maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) capabilities, including a recent partnership with Brazil’s Embraer, as part of a broader aviation and defence ecosystem integrating domestic manufacturing with global supply chains.
Responding to audience questions on governance and credibility following regulatory scrutiny and media coverage, Adani said resilience depends on strong operating fundamentals and transparent communication.
“We also need to communicate our context better,” he said, adding that narrative-building has become increasingly important in global markets.
