Speaking at the Economic Times World Leaders Forum (ET WLF) 2026, Google India’s Preeti Lobana emphasized that artificial intelligence must extend beyond large corporations to reach small businesses, farmers, and daily workers to drive India toward a $1 trillion digital economy.
Core Pillars of Inclusive AI Development
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Broad-Based Accessibility: AI integration must prioritize small and medium enterprises (SMEs), agricultural workers, and grassroots labor rather than remaining confined to tier-1 enterprise tech stacks.
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Localization & Indian Languages: Expanding multilingual AI capabilities is critical for bridging the digital divide across rural and semi-urban populations.
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Infrastructure & Compute: Scaling accessible compute capacity remains essential for enabling local startups and developers to deploy AI solutions efficiently.
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Cybersecurity & Sovereignty: Balancing rapid deployment with localized data protection, system resilience, and sovereign AI frameworks.
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Rural Economy Contribution: Rural India will serve both as a primary beneficiary and an active operational layer in building localized AI models and digital infrastructure.
