India, Feb. 18 -- At the recent AI Safety Connect (AISC) strategic briefing on the sidelines of the ongoing India AI Impact Summit 2026, a critical question was raised: can India truly compete in the global artificial intelligence (AI) arms race by going it alone? While the IndiaAI Mission is a massive leap forward, with its focus on GPU procurement, sovereign infrastructure, and data localisation, experts are beginning to wonder if a change in equation is required to beat the silicon giants of the West and the East.

In an exclusive interaction with Dataquest, Mark Brakel, Global Director of Policy at the Future of Life Institute (FLI), offered a provocative alternative. He suggests that for India to secure its digital future, it must lo...