The event
"Navigating IndiaAI Mission: The Startups Perspective" was a roundtable held under The Startup Edge initiative by Chase Advisors, in collaboration with TiE India. It brought together policy leaders, industry experts, investors and startup founders to discuss how India's AI Mission can speed up innovation and inclusive growth in AI, the metaverse and extended reality (XR). Participants included Upasana Sharma of TiE India, Sudipto Banerjee of NASSCOM, Dr Rishikesh Patankar of NSDC, Dipakshi Mehandru of Intel Corporation and Arun Sharma of the World Bank.
The talk
Rrahul argued that XR and metaverse technologies should be built into India's national AI roadmap, so that immersive technology becomes part of the foundation of the country's digital future. As well as setting out the challenges startups face, he proposed practical policy steps to support India's growing immersive technology sector.
A policy and regulatory framework for the metaverse
Asked about the regulatory complexity of the metaverse, Rrahul said India needs GDPR-style data protection laws, explainable AI frameworks and blockchain-based digital identity systems. These would protect user privacy, prevent misinformation and keep platforms neutral towards creators.
He urged the government to encourage ethical innovation, sandbox testing environments and digital literacy programmes, to build a safe and inclusive metaverse sector in line with India's national AI goals.
Infrastructure
On the computing demands of real-time immersive experiences, Rrahul stressed cloud partnerships and green data centers powered by renewable energy, so that India's AI and metaverse infrastructure is sustainable and competitive worldwide.
Key points
- AI and XR together will shape India's digital future
- A safe metaverse sector needs the right policy and infrastructure
- Government-backed innovation sandboxes and AI ethics frameworks
