India is already a driving force of innovation in Asia and a global centre of technology talent. Now, the world’s largest democracy is on the brink of an artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, which promises to propel the nation forward as a leader in technology. This pivotal moment holds lessons for the rest of the world.
India’s unique digital transformation journey
India’s 1.4 billion people are exceptionally optimistic about AI. In our (Microsoft's) recent study, 90% of people we surveyed say they already use it, and the vast majority think it will make life more convenient (79%) and enable career development (76%).
If Indians are enthusiastic about technology, one reason might be the way India has harnessed technology to create a dynamic digital ecosystem. The country’s digital transformation has created a new model of economic growth that ensures everyone can access and benefit from technological progress. Indeed, the “India Stack” is gaining global recognition for its ability to boost social outcomes, with the IMF and World Bank set to bring this model to 50 developing countries by 2028.
Emblematic of India’s approach is the government’s embrace of open digital public infrastructure (DPI), which has transformed how public services are being delivered to Indian citizens. Since DPI generates large amounts of data, it also forms a critical bedrock for developing and deploying AI-based solutions at population scale. This explains why India is now leading the charge in the widespread adoption of generative AI.The increasing role of AI in India’s growth story
India’s generative AI market is expected to add USD 450–500 billion to India's GDP by 2025, accounting for 10% of the country's USD 5 trillion GDP target.
Much of the accelerated rate of diffusion that we are seeing with AI is a direct offshoot of India’s booming IT and business process outsourcing services exports, valued at more than US$150 billion a year. Leading players in the IT and IT-enabled services industries have become early adopters of generative AI copilots – both to unlock productivity gains and to guide others on how to use and benefit from these next-generation technologies.
India’s startups and digital natives also provide the country with a huge first-mover advantage for developing AI. Currently, one in four AI projects on the GitHub developer platform comes from India, and by 2027 the country will have eclipsed the US to become the world’s largest developer base.
There are good reasons for optimism about India’s leadership on AI. India’s supercharged AI journey shows us how a blend of digital public goods and innovative applications of large-language models (LLM) can resolve business and societal challenges at scale. If we can build and solve for India, we can build and solve for the world.
India’s diversity makes it the perfect testbed for AI deployments aimed at solving socio-economic issues.
Language technology is one area where AI is enabling progress. Jugalbandi, a generative AI-powered chatbot, offers rural Indians easy, conversational access to government services in local languages. In the future, chatbots could be used for any interaction between a person and an institution, be it to seek medical information or to retrieve court documents.
Other organisations are also using AI to make services available across languages. Sarvam AI is building generative AI models targeting Indic languages and contexts to make AI applications in India more accurate and cost effective. Similarly, social impact organisation Karya builds datasets in Indian languages to train AI models and for research, while creating jobs for Indians in rural areas. Karya’s platform could make technology more accessible in under-resourced languages for millions of people across Asia, helping them to thrive in the digital economy.
Education is another area where AI promises to have a profound impact. Sikshana Foundation introduced the Shiksha Copilot, a generative AI assistant that can draw up lesson plans in minutes, enhancing the learning experience for both teachers and students. It could help to slow the exodus of students from public to private schools in India and other developing countries.
Copiloting India and the world to transform with AI
As India enter its 76th year of independence, it is fast becoming a global technological and economic powerhouse. By leveraging technologies such as generative AI in a broad sectoral way, in both public and private sectors and across industries, India can become a beacon of inclusive and equitable AI innovation, and it is a great example of how AI can drive inclusion — both for India and for the world.
—The author, Ahmed Mazhari, is President, Microsoft Asia. The views expressed are personal.
India’s unique digital transformation journey
India’s 1.4 billion people are exceptionally optimistic about AI. In our (Microsoft's) recent study, 90% of people we surveyed say they already use it, and the vast majority think it will make life more convenient (79%) and enable career development (76%).
If Indians are enthusiastic about technology, one reason might be the way India has harnessed technology to create a dynamic digital ecosystem. The country’s digital transformation has created a new model of economic growth that ensures everyone can access and benefit from technological progress. Indeed, the “India Stack” is gaining global recognition for its ability to boost social outcomes, with the IMF and World Bank set to bring this model to 50 developing countries by 2028.
Emblematic of India’s approach is the government’s embrace of open digital public infrastructure (DPI), which has transformed how public services are being delivered to Indian citizens. Since DPI generates large amounts of data, it also forms a critical bedrock for developing and deploying AI-based solutions at population scale. This explains why India is now leading the charge in the widespread adoption of generative AI.The increasing role of AI in India’s growth story
India’s generative AI market is expected to add USD 450–500 billion to India's GDP by 2025, accounting for 10% of the country's USD 5 trillion GDP target.
Much of the accelerated rate of diffusion that we are seeing with AI is a direct offshoot of India’s booming IT and business process outsourcing services exports, valued at more than US$150 billion a year. Leading players in the IT and IT-enabled services industries have become early adopters of generative AI copilots – both to unlock productivity gains and to guide others on how to use and benefit from these next-generation technologies.
India’s startups and digital natives also provide the country with a huge first-mover advantage for developing AI. Currently, one in four AI projects on the GitHub developer platform comes from India, and by 2027 the country will have eclipsed the US to become the world’s largest developer base.
There are good reasons for optimism about India’s leadership on AI. India’s supercharged AI journey shows us how a blend of digital public goods and innovative applications of large-language models (LLM) can resolve business and societal challenges at scale. If we can build and solve for India, we can build and solve for the world.
Unlocking AI’s societal impact at population scale
India’s diversity makes it the perfect testbed for AI deployments aimed at solving socio-economic issues.
Language technology is one area where AI is enabling progress. Jugalbandi, a generative AI-powered chatbot, offers rural Indians easy, conversational access to government services in local languages. In the future, chatbots could be used for any interaction between a person and an institution, be it to seek medical information or to retrieve court documents.
Other organisations are also using AI to make services available across languages. Sarvam AI is building generative AI models targeting Indic languages and contexts to make AI applications in India more accurate and cost effective. Similarly, social impact organisation Karya builds datasets in Indian languages to train AI models and for research, while creating jobs for Indians in rural areas. Karya’s platform could make technology more accessible in under-resourced languages for millions of people across Asia, helping them to thrive in the digital economy.
Education is another area where AI promises to have a profound impact. Sikshana Foundation introduced the Shiksha Copilot, a generative AI assistant that can draw up lesson plans in minutes, enhancing the learning experience for both teachers and students. It could help to slow the exodus of students from public to private schools in India and other developing countries.
Copiloting India and the world to transform with AI
As India enter its 76th year of independence, it is fast becoming a global technological and economic powerhouse. By leveraging technologies such as generative AI in a broad sectoral way, in both public and private sectors and across industries, India can become a beacon of inclusive and equitable AI innovation, and it is a great example of how AI can drive inclusion — both for India and for the world.
—The author, Ahmed Mazhari, is President, Microsoft Asia. The views expressed are personal.
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