Emmanuel Macron hails India’s digital leap at AI Impact Summit: 'Built something that no other country has...'

French President Emmanuel Macron

• Macron commends India's digital payment and identity systems
• India and France launch Indo-French Centre for AI in Health
• Both nations aim to build sovereign AI capacity and talent

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French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday hailed India’s digital payment system during his address at the AI Impact Summit.

“India built something that no other country in the world has built. A digital identity for 1.4 billion people. A payment system that now processes 20 billion transactions every month. A health infrastructure that has issued 500 million digital health IDs,” Macron said.

Macron said that ten years back, a street vendor in Mumbai had no access to banking services because he lacked documents and a fixed address. Today, the same vendor processes transactions through his phone, he said.

"Ten years ago, the world told India that 1.4 billion people could not be brought into the digital economy. India proved them wrong. Today, some say AI is a game only the biggest can play...India, France, Europe, together with our partners, those who believe in our approach, companies, governments, investors, might have a different way...The future of AI will be built by those who combine innovation and responsibility, technology with humanity, and India and France will help to shape this future together," Macron said in his address.

He also stated that the current era marks the beginning of a rapid technological shift. "That is what this summit is about," Macron stated, acknowledging the Prime Minister's vision for the future of AI.

On Wednesday, the French President underscored the need for India and France to build sovereign AI capacity and talent, ensuring that AI development serves humanity without overdependence on a few global powers.

In a move to strengthen Indo-French cooperation in healthcare and emerging technologies, Union Health Minister J P Nadda and Macron on Wednesday inaugurated an Indo-French Centre for AI in Health (IF-CAIH) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.

“India and France are committed to developing the computing capacity and talent necessary to build our own trusted AI systems, as we cannot rely solely on technologies created and managed elsewhere,” Macron said on the occasion.