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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Dr. Sudhir M. Parikh Founder, Chairman & Publisher Ilayas Quraishi Chief Operating Officer Ela Dutt Editor Archana Adalja Contributing Editor T. Vishnudatta Jayaraman Advisor Arun Shah Ahmedabad Bureau Chief Peter Ferreira, Deval Parikh, Freelance Photographers Bhailal M. Patel Executive Vice President Chandrakant Koticha-Rajkot, India Executive Director Business Development Jim Gallentine Business Development Manager - U.S. Shahnaz Sheikh Senior Manager Advertising & Marketing Sonia Lalwani Advertising Manager Shailu Desai Advertising New York Muslima Shethwala Syed Sheeraz Mahmood Advertising Chicago Digant Sompura Consultant for Business Development Ahmedabad, India Hervender Singh Circulation Manager Main Office Editorial & Corporate Headquarters 1655 Oak Tree Toad, Suite 155 Edison, NJ 08820-2843 Tel. (212) 675-7515 Fax. (212) 675-7624 New York Office Tel: (718) 784-8555 E-mails editor@newsindiatimes.com advertising@newsindia-times.com subscription@newsindia-times.com Website www.newsindiatimes.com Chicago Office 8846 Lavergne Ave, Skokie, IL 60077 Tel. (773) 856-3345 California Office 650 Vermont Ave, Suite #46 Anaheim, CA 92805 Mumbai Office Nikita Ajay Pai Goregaon, West Mumbai Ahmedabad Office 303 Kashiparekh Complex C.G. Road, 29 Adarsh Society Ahmedabad 380009 Tel. 26446947 F ax. 26565596 Published weekly, Founded in 1975. The views expressed on the opinion pages are those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect those of News India Times. Copyright © 2025, News India Times News India Times (ISSN 0199-901X) is published every Friday by Parikh Worldwide Media LLC., 1655 Oak Tree Toad, Suite 155 Edison, NJ 08820-2843 Periodicals postage paid at Newark, N.J. , and at additional mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address change to News India Times, 1655 Oak Tree Toad, Suite 155 Edison, NJ 08820-2843 Annual Subscription: United States: $28 Disclaimer: Parikh Worldwide Media assumes no liability for claims/ assumptions made in advertisements and advertorials. Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed on this page are those of the authors and Parikh Worldwide Media does not officially endorse, and is not responsible or liable for them. India’s AI Journey: Transforming Fiscal Management For ADeveloped India AI is proving to be more than just a digital tool; it is becoming a fiscal multiplier. By tightening compliance, improving revenue forecasts, pre- venting leakages, and guiding expenditure, AI is reshaping India’s fiscal landscape. Recent tax reforms under the GST regime adjusting slabs to reduce rates on essentials while taxing luxury goods higher were made possible through AI-driven fiscal analytics. I ndia’s rapid adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer confined to technology labs or industry pilots. It is becoming a core enabler of governance, particularly in its fiscal man- agement, the backbone of any modern economy. In recent years, AI is helping India plug revenue leakages, strengthen budget forecasting, improve subsidy targeting and enhance financial inclusion. This transformation is positioning AI as a fiscal multiplier for the country’s journey toward Viksit Bharat (Developed India) 2047. BUILDING FISCAL AI FOUNDATIONS The launch of the IndiaAI Mission (2024), backed by 10,300 crore over five years, established one of the world’s largest AI compute infrastructures with nearly 18,700 GPUs. This comput- ing backbone powers fiscal applications such as real-time GST monitoring, subsidy disbursal analytics and expenditure fore- casting. Early results show that AI is improving tax compliance and reducing fraudulent claims, thereby strengthening India’s fiscal base. DATA AS THE NEW FISCAL FUEL: The IndiaAI Dataset Platform is emerging as a game-changer. By opening anonymized datasets to researchers and startups, the government is enabling large-scale fiscal simulations. Analysts can now model indirect tax elasticity, test subsidy impact and run “what-if” budget scenarios. This data-driven approach al- lows India to respond proactively to shocks such as commodity price fluctuations rather than react belatedly. AI IN SECTORAL PLANNING AND BUDGETING: AI-driven Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in agriculture, health- care, and education are generating fiscal insights with direct policy relevance. For example, crop yield forecasts are helping calibrate procurement and subsidy budgets, while healthcare AI tools predict demand for medicines and beds, guiding public health expenditure. Such sectoral intelligence ensures more ef- ficient allocation of scarce resources. FINANCIAL INCLUSION THROUGH LANGUAGE AI: Fiscal efficiency is not just about numbers it is also about inclusion. Platforms like Bhashini and Sarvam-1 are breaking language barriers, enabling farmers, traders and small business- es across India to access government schemes and understand tax norms in their native languages. This multilingual access improves compliance, expands the taxpayer base and increases participation in digital payments. STRENGTHENING DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE: India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker has already transformed service delivery. With AI integration, it is now tackling fiscal leakages. AI-powered fraud detection in Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs) is reducing duplicate and ineligible claims. Recent pilots during Mahakumbh 2025 demonstrated AI-enabled DPI’s ability to manage massive finan- cial flows in real time insights now being adapted for pension disbursal, subsidy transfers, and tax refunds. CASE STUDIES: AI IN FISCAL ACTION: The results are tangible. GST analytics engines have identified thousands of fraudulent firms using fake invoices, saving billions in lost revenue. DBT monitoring systems, cross-checking Aadhaar with bank accounts, are blocking duplicate or ineligible subsidy claims These examples highlight how AI safeguards taxpayer money and ensures greater fiscal discipline. Human Capital and Private Innovation: To sustain this momentum, India is investing in AI skilling and talent pipelines through the IndiaAI Future Skills initiative. Universities and AI labs in Tier 2 and 3 cities are training fiscal data analysts, while Global Capability Centers (GCCs) mainly in South India are increasingly handling compliance and financial analytics for both government and private clients. At the same time, startups are building AI audit tools and cor- porates are deploying compliance monitoring systems, widening the fiscal net and reducing costs for SMEs. Responsible and Ethical AI in Finance: Trust is central to fiscal governance. India’s pragmatic regula- tory approach neither overregulating nor leaving AI unchecked ensures safeguards against fraud and cyber risks. IITs and uni- versities are working on AI ethics frameworks, reinforcing public trust in AI-driven fiscal systems. 2025 - AI as India’s Fiscal Multiplier AI is proving to be more than just a digital tool; it is becoming a fiscal multiplier. By tightening compliance, improving revenue forecasts, preventing leakages, and guiding expenditure, AI is reshaping India’s fiscal landscape. Recent tax reforms under the GST regime adjusting slabs to reduce rates on essentials while taxing luxury goods higher were made possible through AI-driv- en fiscal analytics. As India advances towards Viksit Bharat 2047, the integra- tion of AI in fiscal management is emerging as both a necessity and a strategic advantage. By embedding AI into public finance, India is building a governance model that is predictive, precise, transparent, and inclusive qualities that every modern economy must aspire to. References 1. Press Information Bureau (PIB), Ministry of Electronics & IT. India’s AI Revolution: A Roadmap to Viksit Bharat. March 2025. 2. NASSCOM & BCG. State of India’s Generative AI Ecosystem Report 2024. 3. Stanford University. AI Index Report 2024. 4. Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Union Budget 2025–26: AI in Public Finance and Governance. 5. Reserve Bank of India. AI and Machine Learning in Indian Financial Systems: Opportunities and Risks. 2024 (The author holds a dual masters degree from Europe and the US and is an ex-interna- tional corporate banker currently serving as Visiting Professor in international marketing at a university in Bengaluru, India. Views expressed are personal. He can be reached at rameshkumarn180@gmail.com ) - (This article appeared in South Asia Monitor Oct. 10, 2025. Used under special arrangementwith SAM) By Ramesh Kumar Nanjundaiya Opinion News India Times (October 18, 2025 - October 24, 2025) October 24, 2025 3 PHOTO:South Asia Monitor PHOTO:CourtesyAI Depiction of AI.