India, March 2 -- The first two months of 2025 have been eventful in the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). In January, the release of DeepSeek's R1 model shook the AI world. Then in February, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, co-chaired the Paris AI Action Summit where United States (US) Vice President JD Vance emphasised the geopolitical and security implications of the AI race. Finally, PM Modi's recent visit to the US saw the launch of the re-branded TRUST initiative for US-India cooperation on critical technologies such as AI.

What do these developments imply for India's quest for AI leadership? The discussion in India in the aftermath of the shake-up caused by DeepSeek has been on e...