AI ambitions: Software strength meets hardware hurdle
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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
For India to be a real player in the AI race, Parliament must step up
As the US and China drive a new era of AI competition, and the EU asserts leadership on AI regulation, India has articulated its ambition to lead in technology and shape global AI governance. With its democratic legitimacy and digital capacity, India is positioned to represent the Global South in AI forums. However, without a comprehensive, politically grounded national strategy, it risks falling behind in technological capability and managing the attendant strategic and social transformations. The IndiaAI Mission, approved last year with a budget of over Rs 10,000 crore, is a welcome step. But it is a mission without a mandate. Housed as a division of a Section 8 company under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, it is led by a bureaucrat. Operating without a Cabinet-endorsed national strategy, it lacks both the political heft to drive whole-of-government coordination or signal the long-term political commitment required to align public and private action. The US, China, the UK and the EU anchor their AI efforts in formal, Cabinet-endorsed national strategies with clear roadmaps and timelines. This governance gap is critical because India faces structural deficits that impede its AI ecosystem, which cannot be overcome through incremental approaches. The Indian R&D base remains relatively shallow. Our universities are underrepresented in global AI rankings; the pipeline of AI-specialised PhDs is limited; collaboration between academia and industry is weak. India continues to lose top-tier AI talent to global hubs. In the private sector, India's IT industry remains oriented toward services. Research investments are modest relative to international companies, and to the extent that the Indian IT industry has engaged with AI, it has been largely in deployment — downstream of frontier innovation. India lacks AI-first national champions and the deep-tech industrial ecosystem seen in global leaders. Venture capital majors are frank: They see India as a consumer market, not a deep-tech innovator. Funding remains skewed towards consumer tech, not foundational research. Bridging these deficits will require a coordinated transformation, guided by a national strategy, anchored in political consensus and designed to provide long-term policy stability. That consensus is what India's current approach lacks. Parliament's role goes beyond regulation; it is the primary forum for signalling bipartisan political consensus .Yet, Parliament has remained extraneous to shaping national AI governance. Less than 1 per cent of questions are on AI and there is no dedicated institutional mechanism for oversight. In other leading democracies, legislative processes have built bipartisan support for AI strategies, ensured transparency, and aligned governance with public values. Without parliamentary anchoring, India's AI governance risks remaining fragmented and vulnerable to administrative shifts. The consequences of this democratic deficit are evident. Important debates around strategic autonomy, use of public data, energy demands and national security implications have received short shrift in the largely technocratic policy discussions. This absence also undermines India's international credibility. While India's leadership of the Global Partnership on AI signals global ambition, other democracies will look at whether its domestic governance aligns with its aspirations abroad. The path forward is clear. India needs a Cabinet-endorsed National AI Strategy — presented to Parliament — that sets out a vision, an actionable roadmap, and mechanisms for democratic accountability. This strategy must establish an empowered coordinating authority with a whole-of-government mandate; align R&D, industrial policy, and security strategy, and create frameworks for public engagement and parliamentary oversight. AI is not just another technology. It is a general-purpose transformation that will reshape national security, economic structures and the social contract itself. Managing that transformation requires policy stability and legitimacy — built through broad-based national deliberation. India's strengths are undeniable: A young population, a competitive digital economy, and the world's largest democracy. These assets position India to chart an AI trajectory that combines innovation with inclusion. But that future will not emerge by default. The window for action is closing. As global AI governance frameworks take shape and capabilities advance rapidly, India must move beyond piecemeal initiatives toward a comprehensive strategy. AI governance must be treated as a national strategic priority — grounded in democratic consensus — if India is to shape an AI future aligned with its national interests and global leadership aspirations. Gupta is executive director of Future of India Foundation. This article draws from the Foundation's report, 'Governing AI in India: Why Strategy Must Precede Mission'
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Why AI literacy is key to India's future
India is at a pivotal moment in its technological journey. Since 2022, generative AI has progressed rapidly, accelerating innovation and unlocking new potential to tackle complex challenges. This wave of technological advancement aligns closely with India's development priorities, opening up opportunities for transformative impact across key sectors. Early use cases are already emerging, from personalised learning solutions in education, to predictive analytics for improved crop management in agriculture, and enhanced diagnostics and access in health care. AI (Getty Images/iStockphoto) As AI solutions become integral to daily digital interactions, the question is no longer just about access to AI tools; it is about the capacity of citizens to engage with them effectively and as responsible users. To truly harness this opportunity, investing in AI literacy is a national imperative, paving the way to empower every citizen to navigate an AI-driven world and actively shape the future. Recognising AI's transformative potential, the Government of India has launched strategic nationwide initiatives such as the IndiaAI Mission, which champions an 'AI for All' vision to democratise the benefits of AI while proactively addressing its risks. The Mission is focused on establishing a comprehensive ecosystem to catalyse AI innovation through strategic partnerships across the public and private sectors. India's AI compute capacity has seen a dramatic leap through deliberate investment, now standing at 34,333 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) following the empanelment of multiple providers. This scale positions the country to support world-class AI research and innovation, develop sovereign models and support impactful AI solutions that address real-world challenges. To foster indigenous AI model development, institutions have been selected to build and deploy foundational AI models. Data quality and availability are also being enhanced through initiatives such as the AIKosh platform, which currently hosts over 600 curated Bharat datasets. Moreover, India's talent pool is already making a global impact. According to the Stanford AI Index Report 2025, India ranked second worldwide in AI skill penetration from 2016 to 2024 with a 252% increase, and has led the world in year-over-year AI talent hiring rates. Alongside this, the Mission is focused on nurturing a robust talent pipeline. Notably, AI skills are being strengthened among the youth in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities through the launch of the IndiaAI Data Labs, which will provide foundational courses in data and AI. Sustaining this momentum requires building a broader foundation. To ensure that every citizen, not only researchers and developers, can participate meaningfully in an AI-driven future, foundational AI literacy for all has become a strategic national priority. This is especially critical for young learners, our future citizens, who are growing up in a world where AI is already shaping their everyday experiences. Today's children are already immersed in an environment deeply shaped by AI. More than 80% of rural Indian children aged 14–16 regularly use smartphones, interacting with recommendation engines, autocomplete tools, and chatbots often without realising how these algorithms shape their choices, opinions or behaviour. This silent immersion offers both promise and peril. AI-driven platforms can deliver personalised learning and adaptive feedback that may have been otherwise inaccessible to learners. At the same time, without the tools to critically engage with AI, learners, especially those from lower-income segments, are more vulnerable to misinformation, privacy risks, and algorithmic bias. The influence of AI on agency, equity and empowerment will depend on how well individuals are prepared to understand and navigate this technology. Without foundational literacy, young people risk remaining passive consumers rather than active contributors to an inclusive and innovative digital future. As India accelerates its leadership in AI, building foundational AI literacy at scale is essential. AI literacy refers to the knowledge and practices that help students, teachers and parents understand what AI is, how it shapes their digital lives and how to use it safely and thoughtfully. AI Samarth is India's first large-scale AI literacy programme designed for underserved communities from Bharat. The initiative aims to empower 50 lakh students, parents and educators across government and affordable private schools with essential knowledge and practices for meaningful and responsible AI engagement. To mainstream AI literacy, AI Samarth focuses on three core strategies: Curriculum integration: Developed in partnership with CSF and IIT Madras, the AI Samarth AI Literacy Curriculum is tailored for Bharat's classrooms and available as a public good for states and designed for flexible integration within existing school routines and subject areas Contextual content: Designed as a multilingual repository of contextually relevant learning materials to make AI literacy accessible, engaging, and comprehensible for students, teachers, and parents across India. The content stack will include curriculum-aligned videos, in-class teaching materials, lesson plans, and assessments tailored to the diverse learning environments in India. Scalable delivery: Disseminated through online platforms and cascaded teacher training to reach learners across geographies pan-India. Together, these strategies aim to embed AI literacy into the fabric of school education, nurturing a generation that approaches technology with curiosity, confidence and safety. This early foundation in AI literacy is critical for enabling the next step: equipping learners with practical skills to thrive in an AI-driven world. Building on this groundwork, the government is advancing skilling in AI through targeted initiatives under the 'FutureSkills' pillar of the IndiaAI Mission. Designed for scale and inclusivity, the initiative is ensuring that high-quality, hands-on AI and data skills reach learners across the country with focus on Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations. As India advances its AI capabilities through the IndiaAI Mission, which encompasses infrastructure investments, skilling programmes, improved access to high-quality datasets, and the development of AI solutions across critical sectors, the next frontier is ensuring that every citizen is empowered to engage meaningfully and responsibly with AI. This means recognising that AI literacy and skilling are not separate paths but part of a continuum: literacy enables awareness, informed use, and critical thinking; skilling builds deeper expertise for professional application. Investing in the continuum of literacy and skilling today will lay the foundation for an India that is not only AI-ready but truly AI-empowered. This article is authored by Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission and additional secretary, ministry of electronics and IT, Government of India and Shaveta Sharma-Kukreja, CEO & MD, Central Square Foundation.
Time of India
07-07-2025
- Time of India
Only 1 in 5 Indian youth is AI-skilled: Latest report flags massive opportunity gap
A report supported by and Asian Development Bank (ADB) has unveiled the major skill gap among Indian youth as the country races to transition to an AI-driven economy. The study reveals that only 1 in 5 young adults in India have participated in AI-skilling programmes, exposing a significant population to the risk of job displacement and missed opportunities in emerging sectors. Titled "AI for All: Building an AI-Ready Workforce in Asia-Pacific", the April 2025 report surveyed 3,000 individuals across 8 Asia-Pacific economies. It identifies Indian youth, especially those aged between 15 to 29, as a key demographic which could benefit from AI skilling. Even as a strong enthusiasm could be witnessed for adapting and learning about AI, participation numbers claim 80% young respondents are yet to enrol in any AI-related training course. The findings lay bare a stark preparedness gap in a labour market that increasingly prioritises AI fluency, digital decision-making, and automation skills over traditional academic qualifications. Hiring trends are shifting, but graduates aren't keeping up India's position is particularly urgent given its large and growing youth population. The report highlights a widening disconnect between industry expectations and the current skillset of young Indian jobseekers. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Pensia Pilon 3 NN Pensia Facultativă NN Vezi oferta Undo As workplaces integrate AI across functions, recruiters are placing greater emphasis on practical digital competencies, such as using AI-powered tools for automation, data processing, and workflow optimisation. Yet, much of the youth talent pipeline lacks exposure to such applied skills. The study notes one of last year's reports; 'only 10% of India's 1.5 lakh engineering graduates are likely to be employed in 2024', pointing to a gap between academic training and workplace readiness. These hiring patterns threaten to sideline even technically qualified candidates who lack AI literacy. Further, survey insights show that 40% of respondents prefer hands-on training focused on real-world scenarios, an indication that conventional classroom instruction is falling short. The report stresses the need for employment-oriented skilling models that integrate industry tools, user-centric design, and workplace simulations to better align youth capabilities with evolving recruitment benchmarks. The real barriers run deeper than access While lack of access to digital infrastructure is a major hurdle, the report identifies deeper structural challenges. One of the most critical is low digital literacy, especially in rural areas and among first-generation learners. In South Asia, which includes India, only 13% of under-25 individuals have home internet access, severely limiting participation in online skilling programmes. In addition to poor connectivity, social and cognitive barriers are limiting uptake. Women, informal workers, and people from non-urban regions face higher risks of exclusion. The study finds that mature and less digitally fluent individuals are twice as likely to face language-related challenges, and 1.6 times more likely to report concerns about trusting AI systems. Despite the existence of nearly 20,000 AI-focused digital skilling initiatives across the region, only 15% of surveyed respondents have engaged with them, revealing a significant gap between programme availability and awareness or usability. India still has a chance Despite the current shortfalls, the report presents a cautiously optimistic path forward. India's demographic edge, defined by its vast youth population, can still be converted into a strategic advantage with timely intervention. The study identifies India as one of the top three Asia-Pacific countries where urgent investment in workforce readiness could deliver outsized returns. The enthusiasm is there; many young Indians express interest in learning AI-related skills. What's needed now is delivery: skilling models that are modular, application-based, and accessible across languages, literacy levels, and geographies. India's existing ecosystem of training institutions and public-private skilling partnerships can serve as a launchpad for scalable change. With inclusive design and strategic policy support, the country can not only mitigate risks from AI-driven job disruption, but also build one of the world's most competitive and future-ready workforces. Ready to navigate global policies? Secure your overseas future. Get expert guidance now!
