The International Forum “AI – The Future Today

The International Forum “AI – The Future Today,” convened from 1–3 June 2026 in Russia, marked a defining moment for Indo-Russian technology diplomacy. Debjit Chakraborty, CEO & Executive Director of the Indo Russia ‘Innopraktika’ Technology Hub (IRITH) took the stage as a panelist at the Forum’s plenary session, articulating an ambitious and concrete vision for a jointly built artificial intelligence ecosystem, one grounded in sovereign infrastructure, trusted data architecture, and the full spectrum of cyber-physical systems.

“We are creating an entire ecosystem in the field of AI between Russia and India. And when we talk about artificial intelligence, it’s not just an AI-based cyber-physical system; it includes a lot of things: data centers, trusted infrastructure, and so on.

— Debjit Chakraborty, CEO & Executive Director, IRITH

A Centre of Excellence to Anchor the AI Partnership

On the sidelines of the Forum, Chakraborty convened with Mr. Valentin Makarov, President of RUSSOFT, Russia’s foremost software industry association, and Mr. Aleksandr Sinelobov, Minister of Digital Development and Communications of the Nizhny Novgorod Region, to formalise a proposal of considerable strategic significance: the establishment of a Joint Indo-Russia Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence & Cybersecurity. Conceived as a dual-location institution, with nodes in New Delhi and the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Centre will operate across four strategic pillars: a jointly managed AI and Cybersecurity Sandbox for live experimentation and proof-of-concept development; a platform for high-level policy dialogue and bilateral thought leadership; a structured channel for university partnerships, faculty exchanges, and joint research certifications; and an incubation engine for commercial projects aligned with India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.

Connecting Deep-Tech MSMEs Across Borders

The same trilateral meeting also produced a second, equally consequential proposal: the Nizhny Novgorod–India MSME Deep-Tech Partnership Programme. Recognising that Nizhny Novgorod is among Russia’s foremost science-driven industrial hubs, the three partners have designed a structured, five-stage model to identify, match, connect, and formalise joint ventures between Russian and Indian MSMEs across complementary technology verticals. Each partnership is envisioned to culminate in a co-developed, market-ready product launched simultaneously across both countries.

Taken together, IRITH’s interventions at the Forum, from the plenary stage to the negotiating table, represent a coherent and accelerating strategy: to move India-Russia AI collaboration from aspiration to architecture, and from bilateral goodwill to jointly owned, commercially productive institutions.