India is ready to play a larger global role in AI-led climate action Says Dr Jitendra Singh

India’s Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh, said that India is ready to play a larger global role in AI-led climate action.

However, the Minister hastened to add that Artificial Intelligence (AI) must be deployed alongside human judgement, institutional cooperation, and global partnerships if it is to effectively address climate change and build resilience against extreme weather events.

Dr Jitendra Singh was speaking at the Technology and Innovation Conclave 2.0, jointly organised by the Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) under the Indian government.

Dr Singh said climate change was “too serious a subject to be left to one nation alone” and could not be mitigated unless countries worked together across borders.

The conclave, themed “AI for Climate Action and Resilience”, opened with introductions of innovators and startups, followed by a high-level inaugural session that brought together senior Indian officials and United Nations representatives, underscoring the growing convergence between national science priorities and global climate action.

Speakers highlighted the role of technology, international cooperation, and innovation ecosystems in addressing climate challenges facing vulnerable regions.

As part of the programme, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the innovation exhibition, toured the displays, and interacted with young innovators from participating member states. He later presented awards to winners of a hackathon focused on AI-driven solutions for climate and resilience challenges.

During the inaugural session, DSIR and APCTT formally announced the launch of “SANKALP” (Synergy for Advanced Networks, Knowledge, and Academia–Industry Learning Progress), a new lecture series designed to strengthen structured engagement among academia, industry, and policymakers and accelerate the translation of research into real-world applications.

In his address, Dr Jitendra Singh said the era of working in silos was over, stressing that climate action required collaboration across scientific disciplines, public and private sectors, and even between science and non-science institutions.

Innovation, he said, could no longer succeed in isolation and needed early and sustained linkages with industry, markets and technology transfer mechanisms.

Highlighting India’s evolving global role, the Minister said the country was no longer inward-looking and was increasingly expected to contribute ideas and solutions to international efforts on climate and technology.

India’s geographic diversity, he noted, offered a unique advantage in studying climate impacts and developing adaptable solutions that could be shared with other countries.

Dr Jitendra Singh linked artificial intelligence with India’s broader technology roadmap, noting that the country was among the early movers in emerging areas such as quantum technologies, having already launched a national quantum mission.

Artificial intelligence, he said, was similarly transformative and had become critical for analysing climate data, forecasting disasters and managing resources.

Citing practical examples, the Minister said AI-based models were already being used in disaster response and environmental monitoring, including the analysis of extreme weather events.

He also referenced the use of AI in healthcare, where diagnostics that once took days could now be completed in minutes, and in drug trials, where technology was improving both speed and precision.

At the same time, Dr Jitendra Singh issued a clear caution against blind or uncritical use of artificial intelligence. Drawing on governance experience, he said that systems driven entirely by AI often failed to meet public expectations, even when disposal rates were high.

He emphasised the importance of hybrid models that combine artificial intelligence with human oversight, judgement and empathy.

Illustrating this approach, the Minister cited initiatives in which AI-driven systems work alongside human professionals, including in healthcare delivery, to improve outcomes and public satisfaction. “One has to be intelligent enough to use artificial intelligence,” he said, underlining that technology should be treated as an essential tool rather than a substitute for human responsibility.

Dr Jitendra Singh also stressed the need for early linkage among innovation, academia, industry, and technology transfer, warning that research without a clear application pathway risks remaining underutilised. Industry engagement, he said, should begin at the innovation stage itself rather than after technologies are developed.

In this context, he highlighted the role of CSIR as one of the few institutions globally that integrates innovation, academic research, technology transfer and industry engagement within a single framework, making it well placed to drive mission-oriented science aligned with national priorities.

Secretary, DSIR, and Director General, CSIR, Dr N. Kalaiselvi, described the conclave as a significant milestone for both DSIR and APCTT, noting that the second edition reflected a growing, structured partnership focused on AI for climate action and resilience.

She said artificial intelligence should be viewed as a powerful tool, guided by human and natural intelligence, to better understand climate impacts.

Highlighting the international character of the conclave, she said APCTT’s network spanning 53 member states and nine associate states had enabled participation from delegates of nine countries, underscoring the importance of cross-border collaboration.

She called for responsible research and urged that the conclave’s outcomes be assessed in measurable terms to guide future initiatives.

Concluding his remarks, the Minister said the real value of the conclave would lie in the outcomes it generated and expressed his expectation that the discussions would lead to concrete conclusions and actionable directions for future collaboration in AI-led climate action.

The high-level inaugural session was attended by senior government and United Nations officials, including UN Resident Coordinator for India Stefan Priesner; Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Dr M. Ravichandran; Head of APCTT, Dr Preeti Soni; Joint Secretary, DSIR, Mahendra Kumar Gupta; and senior officials and scientists from DSIR and CSIR.