India behind in AI race but not out, say experts at India Today Conclave 2025 in Mumbai 

At a recent panel discussion at the India Today Conclave in Mumbai on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Siddharth Zarabi, Group Editor, Business Today, posed a provocative question: Has India already lost the AI race? The responses from policymakers, industry leaders, and consultants revealed a nuanced picture—India is behind, but not out.

R. Chandrasekhar, Former President of NASSCOM and Former Secretary to the Department of Information Technology, admitted that India lags the US and China in foundational technologies and product creation. “There are exceptions, yes, but broadly we haven’t produced as many breakthroughs. Our strength has always been in applying technology and providing services. AI offers a tremendous opportunity in sectors like healthcare, education, and agriculture,” he said.

Srikanth Velamakanni, co-founder of Fractal Analytics, which has filed its DRHP and could soon be one of the first listed AI companies in India, pushed back against pessimism. “India has 1.4 billion people, the best AI talent pool, and is the third-largest producer of AI research papers. We generate a quarter of the world’s digital exhaust. With patient capital, we can catch up quickly—maybe we’re just two to three years behind,” he argued. He warned, however, against India becoming merely the “use case capital” of the world, urging more investment in foundational research.

The capital gap was another recurring theme. India’s ₹10,000-crore AI Mission is a start but pales in comparison to the billions spent by US tech giants. “In rupees it may sound large, but globally it’s pocket change,” Zarabi noted. Velamakanni suggested scaling up significantly and focusing on building an “intelligence layer” over India’s strong digital and physical infrastructure, with priority applications in education and healthcare.

Partner and Director of Risk Management & Data Science at Boston Consulting Group, Deep Mukherjee, added that the “game is still wide open.” Comparing AI’s current stage to the early years of the automobile, he said, “Technology is evolving rapidly, but efficiency is still low. India must move beyond being just a user to building its own foundational models.” He also highlighted the rise of deep tech startups in fields like aeronautics and biotech as a promising trend.

For Chandrasekhar, the way forward lies in leveraging domestic demand. “The telecom revolution showed that India can transform without inventing unique technologies. By focusing on citizen-centric applications of AI, we can create our own model.”

So, has India lost the AI race? The consensus was clear: No. The country is behind, but if it doubles down on applications, capital, and innovation, it can still carve out a distinctive leadership role in the global AI landscape.