New Delhi, February 18, 2026: Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday outlined India’s strategic priorities for integrating Artificial Intelligence into the Manufacturing Engineering Technology (MET) ecosystem, calling it a critical driver of productivity, competitiveness and long-term industrial growth.
The Minister chaired a high-level strategic dialogue bringing together global academicians, industry leaders, policymakers and technology experts during the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam. The convening was curated by NAMTECH under the leadership of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Global Academia and Industry Join Deliberations
The roundtable saw participation from leading academic institutions including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Indian Institute of Technology Madras, alongside senior executives from major technology and manufacturing firms such as Microsoft India, Dell Technologies, Cisco India, Hitachi India, Tata Electronics, Rockwell Automation, Palo Alto Networks, PayPal and Intel, among others.
Discussions centred on leveraging AI as a foundational enabler across India’s industrial value chains, aligned with the national vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. Participants emphasised the need for accelerating AI adoption on factory floors, building application-oriented skills and fostering deeper industry-academia-government collaboration.
Launch of AI-MET White Paper Concept
A key highlight of the event was the unveiling of the White Paper Concept on “AI for Manufacturing Engineering Technology (AI-MET)” by the Minister. The framework proposes a coordinated strategy to embed AI across manufacturing processes, supply chains and engineering systems to enhance efficiency, sustainability and global competitiveness.
The White Paper Concept outlines pathways for collaborative governance, skilling initiatives and scalable deployment models to ensure AI integration benefits enterprises of all sizes, including MSMEs.
Speaking at the event, Vaishnaw described AI as central to India’s developmental ambitions. He stressed that embedding AI within manufacturing ecosystems would strengthen innovation, create entrepreneurship opportunities and prepare the workforce for future industrial demands. He also urged NAMTECH to focus on nurturing next-generation talent capable of advancing precision manufacturing capabilities in India.
Focus on Skills and Scalable Deployment
Global academic leaders and industry executives echoed the need to shift from AI capability-building to real-world industrial application. Experts highlighted that the true impact of AI in manufacturing will depend on deployment across production systems, targeted upskilling of workers and secure digital infrastructure.
Cybersecurity, operational technology safeguards and resilient industrial networks were also discussed as essential components of AI-enabled manufacturing ecosystems.
The convening builds on earlier industry-academia engagements held in 2025 and reinforces the push toward establishing a structured MET platform to support India’s manufacturing transformation and decarbonisation goals.
Officials said the AI-MET initiative signals a collaborative, mission-driven approach to translating India’s AI strengths into tangible industrial outcomes, positioning the country as a competitive and innovation-led manufacturing hub in the years ahead.
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