Hi to everyone. Have you heard the big news about the AI revolution in India? The Indian government just announced that they’re putting a massive 500 crore rupees into a brand-new Centre of Excellence for including AI in the education sector.
This center is all about using cool new technology to make education better for young people like you and me.
Although I am not that young though, but you get the point.
There’s more! Last year, the government also talked about setting up AI centers for important things like farming, healthcare, and even making our cities more sustainable. That’s pretty exciting, right?
Now, here’s a question for you: Do you think all this money and effort from the Indian government is enough to tackle the challenges that AI brings to jobs and other areas?
Let us dive deeper to answer the below:
- The risks we face with AI becoming more common.
- And whether India is doing enough to prepare for these changes.
The Looming Risks Presented by AI
Alright! Let’s talk about something super important—how technology changes the job landscape.
You know, every time there’s a big tech shift, like the Industrial Revolution back in the 1930s or when computers took over in the 1980s, we see old jobs disappearing and new ones popping up.
But here’s the deal: if we don’t get on board with this technology and learn how to use it, we might find ourselves left out.
The Economic Survey has a bit of a warning for us: a lot of low and mid-skilled workers in India could be in serious trouble because of automation. That’s a wake-up call, right?
Another kicker is from a McKinsey Report estimates that globally, up to 375 million people might need to switch jobs because of automation. That’s HUGE! And it’s not just about losing jobs; it’s about needing new skills to snag those new gigs.
Remember this is an old report, and the numbers here are more alarming now with the advent of chatbots like ChatGPT, Deepseek and AI robots.
With AI, things are getting pretty intense! We’re entering a ‘Winner Takes All’ scenario.
The AI models being developed today are getting super smart, and in just a few years, we could have ‘intelligent machines’ doing tasks that we humans do now.
The founder of OpenAI even mentioned they expect to have office-ready ‘AI workers’ by the end of 2025! Can you imagine that?
AI Revolution in India-Is India doing enough?
Now that we’ve talked about the risks at hand, I think we can both agree that it’s super important to invest time and money in the AI space, especially for a developing country like India, where our biggest strength is our labor force.
So, let’s take a look at where we currently stand in the AI game.
You’ll be happy to know that India is among the top 5 countries in the world when it comes to developing AI ecosystems!
The Finance Ministry has allocated a total of ?4,349.75 crore in the FY26 Union Budget to schemes which directly or indirectly involve AI.
The highest increase in allocation went to the India AI mission which was launched in April 2024 under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
It aims to bring AI to critical sectors of the economy such as agriculture and healthcare. Under this mission, the government allows start-ups and researchers to access subsidized graphic processing units (GPU), in hopes of building a homegrown AI model.
The government has increased the budgetary allocation into the India AI Mission to Rs 2,000 crore, four times more than the Rs 551 crore last year.
Hence, if you are an IT organization or a person who is interested in building the next DeepSeek or ChatGpt which can be incorporated in sectors like agriculture or healthcare, this is the chance.
But here’s the kicker—the gap between us and the top contenders, the US and China, is strikingly high.
If you look into the budget allocated by the USA in AI infrastructure, it is a staggering $500 billion investment which dwarfs the Indian budget allocation.
In fact, if you look closely, the budget allocated to R&D in India has been decreasing over the years. Check the graph , where I have sourced the data from Trading Economics and other Google resources.
If we compare it with the budget allocated by US it allocated almost 3.5% of its GDP on R&D in 2021
According to a report from the World Economic Forum, the graph below shows the venture capital investments in different sectors of AI.
Just take a look at how India’s allocation is much smaller compared to the leaders, the US and China!
Now, in this budget, we’ve announced a Rs 500 crore investment in an AI Centre of Excellence focused on education. Earlier, we also announced Centers of Excellence in agriculture, healthcare and urban development. But are these investments enough?
Honestly, I would say no—not right now.
These investments seem pretty small when you compare them to the massive amounts being poured into AI by leaders like the US and China.
India’s AI funding is still quite fragmented, with limited resources allocated to foundational AI research.
A recent report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) highlights that China has not only outpaced India in the volume of research but also in the quality of AI publications.
And get this—according to a think tank called Change Engine, India ranks 14th in the world when it comes to the number of AI research papers presented at top technology conferences.
Basically these papers or thought papers reflect the volume of work that is been happening in the space.
That’s a bit concerning, right? It shows that the research happening in India is still quite low compared to the top countries like the USA, which is leading the pack, followed by China and the UK.
So, while we’re making strides in AI, we definitely need to step up our game and invest more seriously if we want to keep up with the global leaders.
Conclusion
Alright, as we wrap up our discussion today, I want to say that India is definitely making big strides in the AI space! We’re working hard to incorporate AI into different sectors and to equip our youth with the new skills they need. But when we compare our efforts to AI leaders like the USA and China, our progress seems a bit dwarfed.
Why is it crucial for us to invest in AI like the big players? Think of it like a race—kind of like the race for nuclear weapons. The countries that lead in AI will have the upper hand.
Just like the US controls major platforms like Google and Facebook, the future will belong to those who are pioneers in advanced Generative AI tools.
We’re already seeing the competition heat up between ChatGPT and DeepMind!
I would not comment further on whether India is doing enough or not, as I believe that India has got the potential and is actually now realizing the importance of investing in AI.
So if you are a young student interested in technology and AI, this is the right time. Try to become more innovative, ask questions as we are living in an age of disruptions.
On the policy side, as is pointed by the report by the Economic Survey, we need two types of institutions-enabling institutions and insuring institutions!
Think of enabling institutions as your personal trainers for the workforce! ? They’re here to help upskill lower and mid-level workers, ensuring that everyone gets the training they need to thrive in this new tech world. Just like a good trainer helps you build strength and confidence, these institutions will empower our workforce to adapt and succeed.
And then we have insuring institutions—the safety nets for workers! These institutions are like your best friends who have your back during tough times. They’ll protect your rights, provide financial support, and offer emotional help when life gets a bit challenging at the times when AI takes your jobs or when you need to upskill yourself to be job relevant.
Like many countries have unemployment benefits or insurance. Here in Canada, where I live, we have an Unemployment Insurance which provides up to 50-60% of your salary of you loose your job by a disruption.
If India also starts allocating some budget to the development of these funds, we can sail through the transitory phase easily.
Recently, there was a lively debate on Twitter about why India hasn’t produced its own version of ChatGPT or DeepMind. One of the key reasons mentioned is the lack of consistent funding for research and development (R&D) in India.
You see, when you start innovating or inventing something, you often get a prototype, but you need ongoing funding to keep improving it. For example, Chinese models might not be great at first, but they receive consistent funding to keep refining and enhancing their technology.
Just look at their electric cars—they’ve come a long way thanks to that support! And here’s a thought that really puts things into perspective: India spent $74 million on the Mars orbiter Mangalyaan and $75 million on last year’s historic Chandrayaan-3. That’s impressive, but it’s actually less than the $100 million spent on the sci-fi thriller Gravity!
So, as we look to the future, it’s clear that we need to step up our game in AI funding and support to ensure that India can compete on the global stage.
Let’s invest in our potential and make sure we’re not just spectators in this exciting race!
Thanks for joining me today! What are your thoughts on India’s AI journey? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below!”
