New Delhi [India], October 4 : Asserting that India is poised for decades of high economic growth, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar outlined a forward-looking trajectory for the country's global standing, highlighting how India’s human-centric vision for artificial intelligence and the expansion of platforms like BRICS signal a structural shift in international diplomacy.
Speaking on where India will stand over the next five to ten years, Jaishankar emphasised that emerging and middle powers will see distinct growth trajectories, with India uniquely positioned to sustain rapid long-term expansion due to its demographic strength and innovative development path.
"Some powers are more middle, and some are upper middle... Some of the powers have considerable and realistic potential even in the near short medium term to grow very rapidly. In the case of India, because we have decades of high growth ahead of us, and we have all said and done, a demography that will sustain that growth," Jaishankar stated while taking queries at the Munich Leaders Meeting. 
He noted that India does not need to follow traditional industrialisation models, advocating instead for contemporary solutions suited to a rapidly shifting global landscape.
"I would even argue, a world that is much more creative, where many new possibilities are there, so that we don't necessarily have to tread the earlier path of industrialisation. The orthodox path will have to devise something much more contemporary for what awaits us. Among the middle powers, some will peel off, some will stay put, some may drop down a bit. That is the reality. That will be part of the evolution of the global order," he explained.
Turning to technology governance, Jaishankar cited India's approach to artificial intelligence as a primary example of leveraging technology for social equity and public welfare, pointing to the vision showcased during the AI Impact Summit hosted in February this year in New Delhi. 
"On AI, our position was very amply demonstrated at the AI Impact Summit that we did in February this year... In this country, we have actually used the digital capabilities today to bring about a massive governance and social transformation," he remarked. "People perceive AI also as something which must become accessible, affordable, and used for a certain socio-economic purpose... It is a sort of AI for humanity; develop user cases which are relatable to people's needs. That is the kind of vision that we have."
He further stressed the imperative for policy oversight and safety frameworks in emerging domains, noting, "There is also a concern about the safety and security issues that arise. This is too major an issue to leave it to the market, so to speak."
Elaborating on the growing influence of plurilateral platforms in this evolving architecture, Jaishankar highlighted the rising interest in BRICS as proof of a changing global mindset seeking broader, more diverse diplomatic engagements. 
"The BRICS goes through this: how weighty is it, will it work, does it make a difference, etc. Over a period of time, we have shown it does," Jaishankar noted. 
"The fact that so many countries want to join BRICS, we doubled the membership, and we could have quadrupled it without difficulty, does show today that people want to have different conversations. They want to have other players in the room. They want to do their own thing. The challenge for BRICS now is to develop a deeper and deeper agenda, to fit with the growing space," he added. 
The BRICS Summit was held in New Delhi from September 12 to 13. The BRICS Summit brought together leaders of the expanded 11-member grouping in New Delhi under India's chairship. The summit was held under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.”
India's hosting of the summit came as the grouping continued to expand and address issues across economic cooperation, development, technology and global governance. The summit also sought to build consensus among its increasingly diverse membership.