TRAI Chairperson Anil Kumar Lahoti on Monday pitched for resilient artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and robust self-regulation to proactively mitigate risks and ensure systems remain secure, accountable and adaptable to disruptions. Addressing a Nasscom pre-summit event ahead of the upcoming AI Impact Summit, Lahoti said the design and rollout of AI infrastructure would determine whether the benefits of the technology remain concentrated among a few players or are distributed widely across regions and sectors, according to a PTI report dated January 13, 2026.
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January 2026:
Telecom networks to be at heart of India’s AI ecosystem:
“…another important facet is maintaining resiliency within AI infrastructure, this involves establishing safeguards and frameworks that ensure AI systems remain capable of adapting to disruptions and are also reliable, secure and accountable while continuing to serve public and economic objectives…from a regulatory perspective, robust self-regulation is important in this sector as it will enable the industry to proactively address the risks of AI through voluntary commitments and self-certification,” Lahoti was quoted as saying.
Highlighting the growing energy footprint of AI, he cited International Energy Agency projections that India’s total energy demand is expected to grow by about 3% annually till 2035. He underlined the need to optimise AI energy consumption alongside digital growth, noting that global AI energy use is set to more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt hours (TWh).
India AI Mission to Expand GPU Access
Lahoti reportedly said that under the India AI Mission, the government is facilitating cheap access to more than 38,000 GPUs, along with a secure 3,000-GPU cluster for strategic use.
With India well-positioned to capture 10–15% of the estimated $17–26 trillion AI-driven value expected to be added to the global economy over the next decade, Lahoti described AI infrastructure as a strategic national asset.
“AI infrastructure is a strategic national asset in a sense because access to these foundational resources has become a key for innovation, economic competitiveness and state capacity, and these are significant for India’s transformation to a knowledge economy. It is well known that quality AI infrastructure remains globally concentrated among a few countries, firms and urban hubs, and this needs to be addressed,” he reportedly said.
AI–Telecom Convergence Strengthens Digital Backbone
He also highlighted the convergence of AI and telecom, noting that telecom networks are emerging as the backbone of the digital economy.
“AI and the telecom sector are merging to form the backbone of the digital economy, with telecom networks acting as primary carriers for AI, while the technology provides the smart layer for telecom operations. This positions telecom networks at the heart of India’s AI ecosystem,” Lahoti was quoted as saying.
Pointing to the scale of current AI deployment in the sector, Lahoti reportedly said one service provider has already tagged more than 48 billion calls and 250 million SMS as spam, while blocking nearly 3.2 lakh fraudulent URLs.
“It is clear that as India advances towards the adoption of AI, the way AI infrastructure is designed, governed and deployed will determine whether the benefits of artificial intelligence remain concentrated or are widely shared across regions, sectors and institutions. Together, accessibility, resiliency and efficiency must form the core principles of India’s AI infrastructure strategy,” TRAI chairman said, as mentioned in the report.
The India-AI Impact Summit 2026, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, is scheduled to be held on February 19–20 in New Delhi and will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
This is a developing story, and more quotes and insights from Anil Kumar Lahoti will be added as they become available.
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