"I Can Do It, I Will Do It"
Why Modiji 's Slogan Mirrors My 60-Year Journey in Technology and India's AI
Transformation
October 2026
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The Slogan That Captures It All
Prime Minister Narendra Modi often says: "We will do it."
But when I read that IndiaAI published my interview under the headline "I can do
it, I will do it," something clicked. That's not Modi's slogan. That's my life story.
And it captures something profound about what India is attempting in AI—not as an imitation of Silicon Valley or Beijing, but as a civilizational choice about who we are and what we're capable of.
My Own "I Can Do It" Moment: 1958
I didn't start in AI. I started in mechanical engineering at the University of Kansas in the 1950s. I joined MIDCO in 1958 when computers were room-sized machines and the internet didn't exist.
But even then, I asked myself a question that has never left me:
"Where can we use this tech to solve a current societal problem?"
That question became the seed of everything I've done for the last 68 years.
In 1959, I joined L&T as a young executive. I moved through manufacturing, exports, strategic planning. By 1987, I was General Manager of L&T's Planning division. By 1990, I was running a head-hunting firm called 3P Consultants.
But in 1995, when the Internet arrived in India, I realized something my entire career had been preparing me for:
The future wasn't about individual brilliance. It was about platforms. Connection. Access.
The Platform Insight: 1997
In November 1997—when Google was still beta and job portals didn't exist in India—I launched 3pJobs, my first online recruitment platform.
Let me say that again: November 1997. Google officially launched in September 1998.
I was not a tech founder. I was a mechanical engineer turned HR executive who recognized that the internet had made something impossible suddenly inevitable: a buyer-seller marketplace for human talent at scale.
That conviction—"I can do it, I will do it"—drove me to launch not just 3pJobs, but Global-Recruiter, India-Recruiter, Worldwide-Jobs, Recruit-Guru, Customize Resume, Resume Rater, and B2BmessageBlaster.
All of these are now de-hosted. But they proved a principle: Indian entrepreneurs could recognize and execute technological shifts faster than we were given credit for.
Interview - "I can do it, I will do it" - February 9, 2024
The 1986 Moment: Industrial Prophecy
But here's what few people know: I didn't invent the insight in 1997. I predicted it in 1986.
While I was General Manager of L&T, I authored a comprehensive strategic report titled "Quo Vadis" (Where Are You Going?). It was a blueprint for L&T's journey toward the 21st century, with a chapter on Strategic Inputs addressing three pillars: Manpower, Finance, and—most remarkably—Information Technology.
In 1986, when most Indian companies didn't own a single PC, I wrote:
"Expert Systems (cumulative, conjectural wisdom, providing options-for-action) connected to International Data Networks offering instant consultation."
I was describing what the world calls Artificial Intelligence and LLMs today. Forty years ago. Before the PC, before the internet in India, before the World Wide Web was invented.
But here's what's striking: that prediction wasn't about technology. It was about India's capacity to recognize transformation and execute it.
Blog - "VISIONARY OR PROPHET?: Assessing Hemen Parekh's 1986 Industrial Foresight" - May 24, 2026
Modi's Slogan Versus My Reality
Now, 40 years later, when PM Modi says "We will do it," what does he mean?
He means:
- India will build its own Large Language Models (Sarvam, Krutrim, CoRover.ai)
- India will establish AI compute infrastructure (14,000 GPUs, 40% cost subsidy)
- India will democratize AI access (AIKosha datasets, AI Sandboxes)
- India will lead in responsible AI governance (Ethical frameworks, inclusive standards)
These are not statements of ambition alone. They are recognitions of capability.
India has already done this before:
UPI: We didn't copy payment systems from the West. We invented a peer-to-peer, real-time, interoperable payments infrastructure that has processed over $3 trillion in transactions. Today, the world watches us.
Aadhaar Stack: 1.4 billion people with digital identity. A database larger than most nations' entire populations, integrated with financial services, healthcare, and governance.
ONDC: Open Network for Digital Commerce—a federated marketplace platform that lets anyone participate, not just Big Tech giants.
CoWIN: During COVID, we built and deployed a vaccine-tracking system that handled 2 billion vaccination records in real-time across India's vast geography.
These were not imported. These were invented by Indians, for Indians, at scale.
And every single one emerged from the same question I asked in 1971:
"Where can we use this tech to solve a current societal problem?"
The AI Mission as Continuation
When I look at India's AI Mission today—the 180 proposals for foundation models, the 50 AI curation units across ministries, the Jivi AI for healthcare, the ParekhAI initiative—I don't see a race to catch up.
I see a continuation of a pattern I've watched for 50 years:
Recognition → Investment → Execution → Scale → Global Export
We did it with outsourcing (India became a $250 billion IT services market).
We did it with business process management.
We did it with digital payments.
We did it with vaccine distribution.
Now we're doing it with AI.
But here's where PM Modi's slogan becomes important: "We will do it" is not a declaration. It's a recognition of capacity that's already proven.
Blog - "Fuel India's AI mission" - June 26, 2025
The Difference Between "Can Do" and "Will Do"
In February 2024, when IndiaAI published my interview, they titled it "I can do it, I will do it."
Notice the structure:
- "I can do it" = capability (present ability)
- "I will do it" = commitment (future action)
Modi's typical framing is:
- "We will do it" = collective commitment
But I've spent 60 years proving that capability precedes commitment. You don't commit to something you don't believe you can do. And you don't believe you can do it unless you've already glimpsed success.
I glimpsed the internet's potential before it arrived in India.
I glimpsed online recruitment before job portals existed.
I glimpsed AI's potential in industrial decision-making when computers ran on punch cards.
And I acted on those glimpses.
That's what "I can do it, I will do it" really means: I've seen the future, and I'm going to build it.
The Three Pillars of Indian AI (As I See Them)
If Modi is right that "We will do it," here's what India must deliver:
1. Compute Infrastructure (Already Happening)
India has 14,000 GPUs deployed across compute centers, with plans to scale to 100,000+. We're subsidizing 40% of compute costs for startups and researchers. This is the physical foundation.
Status: ✅ In Progress
Blog - "Fuel India's AI mission" - June 26, 2025
2. Indigenous Models (Accelerating)
Sarvam, Krutrim, CoRover.ai, and ParekhAI are being built not to replace OpenAI's models, but to serve Indian languages, Indian context, and Indian values.
My prediction from 2025 was bold:
"We don't need to wait till year-end to become a 'Major Creator' of AI. We launch 'Modi's Manavs'—multiple AIs debating collaboratively—next week."
That wasn't a wild idea. That was recognition that India's strength lies not in competing for one model, but in orchestrating multiple models into a distributed, cooperative AGI.
Status: 🟡 In Development
Blog - "India's AGI can arrive next week" - March 10, 2025
3. Responsible AI Governance (Most Critical)
India selected eight projects on Responsible AI (Machine Unlearning, Nishpaksh, etc.) before rushing to build scale. We emphasized safe, trusted, ethical AI from the start.
This is the difference between "can do" and "should do."
Status: ✅ In Progress
Blog - "Machine Unlearning" - October 1, 2024
The Unspoken Fourth Pillar: Distribution at Population Scale
But here's what Modi's slogan really implies—what he's not saying explicitly but means deeply:
"We will do it" means: Not just for cities. Not just for the rich. Not just for English speakers.
This is where my own work of the last two years intersects with the national mission.
At 91+, I launched www.My-Teacher.in—a free, multilingual AI tutor accessible to 270 million Indian schoolchildren via any mobile phone, in 9 Indian languages, with no registration required.
Why? Because the same question that drove me in 1971 still drives me:
"Where can we use this tech to solve a current societal problem?"
The problem: 12 lakh schools in villages with no qualified teachers. 10 lakh vacant positions. 270 million children with minimal access to quality education.
The solution: An AI teacher in 9 languages, free, available 24/7.
That's what "I can do it, I will do it" means operationally. Not "we will dominate AI globally." But "we will use AI to reach every child who has been left behind."
Email - "IN CLASSROOMS - AI FOR 270 MILLION STUDENTS" - July 28, 2024
The Secret Mantra
In that same IndiaAI interview, they asked me:
"Many people break down for petty reasons and lose hope. How do you compose yourself during challenging times? What's your secret mantra?"
My answer:
"All of us go through tough times. But each time this happened to me, I recall a song from an old Hindi movie: 'Raat jitni hi sangeen hogi, Subha utni hi rangeen hogi'—Darker the night, brighter will rise the following morning. Nothing lasts forever. Sooner you try to find a solution, sooner that tough time fades away."
Interview - "I can do it, I will do it" - February 9, 2024
That's the real insight. It's not about optimism or positive thinking. It's about recognizing that every dark night is temporary, and the sooner you act, the sooner dawn comes.
Modi's slogan—"We will do it"—carries that same confidence. Not arrogance. But earned confidence from a nation that has:
- Built the world's largest digital payment system
- Administered 2 billion vaccine doses in a pandemic
- Connected 1.4 billion people to digital identity
- Created a $250 billion IT services industry from nothing
That's not hope. That's track record.
What "Doing It" Really Means for India's AI Future
Over the next 5 years, if Modi's slogan proves true, here's what I expect to see:
Year 1 (2026-2027)
- Sarvam, Krutrim, and indigenous LLMs deployed across government services
- 50 AI curation units populating AIKosha with government datasets
- Jivi AI integrated into Ayushman Bharat for 1.4 billion citizens
Year 2-3 (2027-2029)
- Multilingual AI services in all 22 Indian languages across education, healthcare, agriculture
- AI-driven decision support in 50+ ministries
- 100,000+ GPU cluster deployed; cost per compute unit drops 50%
Year 4-5 (2029-2031)
- India exports AI infrastructure, models, and frameworks to Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America
- Modi's Manavs (or whatever form collaborative AGI takes) becomes the global benchmark for distributed, safe AI
- 270 million students access quality AI-driven education in their mother tongue
"We will do it" doesn't mean we'll do it alone. It means we'll do it our way.
The Personal Truth Behind the Slogan
Here's what I want to say plainly:
I've been an optimist about India's technological capacity for 60 years. Not because I'm naive. But because I've watched ordinary Indians—engineers, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, teachers—recognize a technological shift and execute it faster, cheaper, and more inclusively than the world expected.
When I launched 3pJobs in November 1997, job portals were a novelty. Today, online recruitment is global infrastructure. India didn't invent it, but we proved we could implement it at scale.
When I predicted AI and expert systems in 1986, most of India was still pre-digital. Forty years later, Sarvam is building foundation models, Krutrim is training multilingual LLMs, and India is curating datasets for national AI.
That's not luck. That's pattern.
And Modi's slogan—"We will do it"—is simply the recognition of that pattern continuing.
The Call to Action
To Prime Minister Modi and the AI Mission leadership:
Your slogan is right. But it's not enough. Here's what needs to happen:
Push compute subsidies deeper into Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities — Not just Bengaluru, not just startups. Reach the village schools, the agricultural centers, the small clinics.
Enforce multilingual by design — Every government AI system must work in at least 3 Indian languages from Day 1, not as an afterthought.
Make responsible AI non-negotiable — Don't wait for a scandal. Bake ethics, consent, and transparency into every model from the start.
Share the IP globally — Open-source the frameworks. Let Africa, Southeast Asia, and Latin America build on India's work. That's how we become not just a tech creator, but a civilizational leader.
To Indian AI researchers and entrepreneurs:
Stop chasing OpenAI's benchmarks. Start solving India's problems. Ask my question:
"Where can we use this tech to solve a current societal problem?"
That's how you build something that lasts.
To the next generation:
The secret to "I can do it, I will do it" is not talent alone. It's persistence, focus, and the willingness to look foolish while everyone else waits.
When I launched a job portal in 1997, people laughed. The internet wasn't mainstream. Recruitment was a phone-based business. But I'd glimpsed the future, and I built it anyway.
Now it's your turn. Glimpse the future. Build it. Don't ask for permission.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
October 2026
Sources (My AI and India Journey)
| # | Title | Date | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I can do it, I will do it | 2024-02-09 | IndiaAI interview capturing my 60-year tech journey and personal philosophy |
| 2 | India's AGI can arrive next week | 2025-03-10 | Proposal for Modi's Manavs—cooperative AGI through multiple AI debate |
| 3 | Fuel India's AI mission | 2025-06-26 | Analysis of India's AI Mission compute infrastructure and democratic access model |
| 4 | India AI Mission in last stages of maturity | 2025-05-01 | Milestone: 50% of AI solutions reaching final deployment-ready stage |
| 5 | Jivi AI and ParekhAI | 2025-05-01 | Two India AI Mission projects ready by 2026 for healthcare and general use |
| 6 | Machine Unlearning | 2024-10-01 | Eight responsible AI projects selected by IndiaAI Mission |
| 7 | VISIONARY OR PROPHET?: Assessing Hemen Parekh's 1986 Industrial Foresight | 2026-05-24 | Detailed assessment of my 1986 "Quo Vadis" predictions versus 2026 reality |
| 8 | IN CLASSROOMS - AI FOR 270 MILLION STUDENTS | 2024-07-28 | My initiative to launch My-Teacher.in, a free multilingual AI tutor for Indian schoolchildren |
| 9 | AI's India: My Vision Fulfilled | 2025-12-01 | Reflection on Microsoft's $17.5B AI investment in India and my earlier predictions |
| 10 | India AI Mission receives 180 proposals | 2025-08-01 | Momentum building: 180 proposals for foundation models across two phases |
| 11 | FW: Parekh's Cooperative AGI Hypothesis | 2026-03-04 | Policy proposal for interoperable AI infrastructure as public good |
| 12 | Missing Ministries in AI Governance | 2026-05-15 | Constructive critique: education and labour ministries must join AI governance |