Artificial intelligence can drive not only India's economy but also the world economy

India is not only the world's most populated nation, but also the youngest country in the world. The country is currently in the developing phase. But it has garnered global interest in terms of the fastest developing nation and digital adoption. This is largely because India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world, according to Startup India. And every year the number of startups in the country is snowballing. Like other countries, India is also making aggressive efforts to achieve the AI-led digital economy, with its "AIforAll" strategy.

The potential of artificial intelligence is not clandestine for today's enterprises. It frees up organizations from expensive resources for higher-level tasks. AI reduces the time taken to perform a task, enabling multitasking and easing the workload for existing resources. It facilitates decision-making by making the process faster and smarter. It has mass-market potential and can be deployed in any business scenario, for any work, and in every industry.

With keeping such capabilities in mind, countries across the world have built their AI strategies. "AIforAll" aims at enhancing and empowering human capabilities to address the challenges of accessibility, affordability, scarcity and inconsistency of skilled talent. It is designed for the effective implementation of artificial intelligence initiatives to develop scalable solutions for emerging economies.

As artificial intelligence refers to a machine that mimics human behaviour and ability, it is being used in manufacturing, healthcare, agriculture, education and skilling.

AI Startup Ecosystem in Indian Economy

The IT and ITeS services segment is critical to India's economy. In FY2020, the domestic revenue of the IT industry was estimated at US$44 billion and export revenue was at US$147 billion. The IT-BPM industry's revenue was estimated at around US$191 billion, growing at 7.7% year over year. It is expected to reach US$350 billion by 2025. On the other side, revenue from the digital segment is expected to grow by 38% of the total industry revenue by 2025, to reach US$1 trillion (INR 69,89,000 crore) by 2025.

In the adoption of artificial intelligence technology, India is making good progress. A report from Accenture suggests that this technology can likely add US$957 billion, or 15% of India's current gross value in 2035. This progress seems achievable as the country's AI strategy emphasizes harnessing collaborations and partnerships, and aspires to ensure prosperity for all.

While India has been ranked second on the Stanford AI Vibrancy Index primarily for its large AI-trained workforce, leading technology institutes like the IITs, IIITs and NITs have the potential to be the cradle of AI researchers and startups. With India's push for digitization and AI initiatives, private firms now are racing to win big contracts by spending huge capital to develop new technologies and spinning out new AI and data science-based startups.

Today, the country is on the way to be a major contributor to AI-powered solutions that address issues not only in India but around the world. For instance, HyperVerge, a B2B SaaS company, builds AI models for real-time image and video analysis. Its deep learning networks power applications for large businesses in financial services, telecom, energy, security and defense. Similarly, India's eCommerce giant Flipkart is powering its decisions in ordering, distribution and product pricing on its platform using AI.

For big techies and firms, artificial intelligence can foster growth and profitability while transforming businesses. It can help drive innovation for entrepreneurs and young companies while improving public safety and advancing the quality of lives in society as a whole.