April 4, 2025
The country ranks 3rd in research and development, and 10th in industrial capacity, but lags in ICT deployment and skills, ranking 99th and 113th respectively.
India is one of the few developing nations outperforming their income levels in technology readiness, alongside Brazil, China, and the Philippines.
India is among the top 10 countries in terms of private investment in AI, with $1.4 billion invested in 2023, ranking behind China and the United States.
The government’s initiatives, such as the India AI Mission and collaboration with academia and the private sector, have bolstered the AI ecosystem.
India has advanced to 36th place out of 170 nations on the UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ‘Readiness for Frontier Technologies’ index, marking a notable improvement from 48th in 2022. The 2025 Technology and Innovation Report outlines this progress as a reflection of India’s growing preparedness for AI and other cutting-edge technologies.
The index evaluates five key dimensions: ICT deployment, skills, research and development (R&D) activity, industrial capacity, and access to finance. India holds a high rank in R&D (3rd globally) and industrial capacity (10th), while remaining behind on ICT deployment (99th), skills (113th), and access to finance (70th). Along with Bhutan, Morocco, Moldova, and Timor-Leste, India showed improvements in human capital due to more years of schooling and higher shares of high-skill employment.
The report identifies India, along with Brazil, China, and the Philippines, as developing countries outperforming expectations based on per capita income. UNCTAD observed that while wealthier countries are generally better prepared for frontier technologies, some lower-income nations like India are exceeding projections, indicated by their position above the expected regression line on the index.
India, the United States, China, Germany, and the United Kingdom have emerged as global leaders in scientific strength in artificial intelligence. In 2023, the US led private AI investment at $67 billion, followed by China at $7.8 billion, with India ranking 10th at $1.4 billion. The AI market is projected to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033. However, the report noted the concentration of AI infrastructure and expertise among a limited number of economies, with 100 companies — mostly from the US and China — accounting for 40% of global corporate R&D expenditure.
The UNCTAD report acknowledged the potential of AI to impact 40% of global jobs, highlighting productivity gains alongside risks of automation-led job displacement. It stated that capital tends to benefit more than labour from AI, potentially exacerbating inequality and diminishing the advantage of low-cost labour in developing economies. However, the report underscored the role of AI in creating new industries and opportunities, stressing the need for investments in reskilling and upskilling to ensure AI supports employment.
India, along with Brazil and Singapore, is among the top 10 economies for cloud infrastructure services from major providers. It also ranks second globally in GitHub’s developer base, behind the US and ahead of China. India’s strength in AI development is partly attributed to its large developer pool, estimated at 13 million, and significant contributions to GenAI projects.
UNCTAD credited India’s progress to long-standing government collaboration with the private sector and academic institutions. It cited the establishment of Centres of Excellence in AI at institutions such as IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, the Kotak-IISc AI-ML Centre, and NASSCOM’s Centre of Excellence in Data Science and AI.
In 2024, the Indian Cabinet approved the India AI Mission, which aimed to strengthen the national AI ecosystem by reducing entry barriers and expanding AI-related courses in tertiary education, particularly in small and medium-sized cities.
China, Brazil, and India have been noted for building large pools of AI developers through different developmental trajectories, reflecting the importance of active policy support in enhancing national readiness for AI.
The report highlighted that different countries tend to specialise in different technologies. India, for example, is specialised in nanotechnology, while Germany leads in wind energy, Japan in electric vehicles, and South Korea in 5G technology.
Manufacturing continues to play a central role in driving economic development. The report cites Brazil, China, and India as examples of how industrialisation can reduce poverty and stimulate broader economic growth.
Source: Economic Times