India's IPL moment in AI: A bid for global leadership

Indian Express

17-05-2025

Written by Vilas Dhar
Sam Altman's AI-generated image of himself as a cricket batsman in India's iconic blues seemed like a playful social media moment. Yet, it highlighted an emerging truth: India's surging presence on the global AI stage. Many once doubted India's AI ambitions. Today, it stands as a serious contender for global leadership.
The parallel with cricket is telling. The Indian Premier League (IPL) transformed cricket worldwide through clear vision, strategic investment, local talent development and welcoming global stars, all while making cricket exciting for diverse audiences. Within a decade, India created one of the world's most vibrant and valuable sporting ecosystems.
India's approach to AI follows a similar blueprint. Here, too, India plays to win.
India's Triple Advantage: Computing Power, Data, and Talent
India's new AI computing resource gives 15 million developers access to powerful processing chips at half the global rate, less than $1.25 per hour instead of the typical $2.50-$3.00. This dramatically lowers barriers for entrepreneurs who previously couldn't afford the computing power needed for AI development. As part of this effort, the government has announced that Sarvam, a homegrown startup, will leverage this infrastructure to build India's first sovereign foundational model. Designed for deep reasoning and fluency in Indian languages, the model will serve the scale and diversity of India's population in real-world deployment.
The country's 1.4 billion citizens generate about 20 per cent of the world's data, providing essential raw material for AI systems. The government has organised this advantage through AIKosha, a platform with hundreds of datasets and AI models that developers can use immediately.
Unlike most countries, India has created a sophisticated framework that balances individual privacy with innovation. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, has gained global recognition for balancing individual privacy with technological innovation. At the same time, the Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA) is uniquely giving citizens control over how their personal information is managed and shared for technological advancement. Its approach gives citizens control over their personal information while allowing its use for technological advancement. As global data becomes more restricted, this Indian citizen-centred model becomes increasingly valuable.
Perhaps most importantly, India boasts remarkable talent growth. In 2024, AI hiring increased by over 33 per cent, second only to the US. According to Stanford University research, India's AI talent pool has grown faster than any other country, expanding by 252 per cent. This reflects how quickly its workforce is adapting to AI opportunities.
Each year, 25,000 engineers graduate from the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology. India also produces the largest group of computer science master's students and the second-largest group of computer science PhD students from American universities. The government is now creating specialised AI research centres – Centres of Excellence – to attract both domestic and global experts.
The Indian Approach: Openness and Collaboration
What makes India different is its approach. Unlike China's state-directed AI strategy or America's private-sector dominance, India's model combines government infrastructure with open collaboration, creating a distinctly democratic path to AI development. While many tech ecosystems guard their innovations, India embraces openness. By promoting shared standards and inclusive development, India creates an environment where ideas can emerge from anywhere. Recent open-source AI breakthroughs show how this approach accelerates innovation and shares benefits widely.
India's success with digital public infrastructure demonstrates this collaborative spirit. Its digital identity system now covers 1.3 billion people, while its payment system handles 17 billion transactions monthly for 450 million users. By 2030, these systems are expected to add 3-4 per cent to India's GDP. The same collaborative approach could give India an edge in AI development.
From Potential to Reality
With these foundations in place, India must now convert potential into concrete benefits for its citizens and the global community to demonstrate the possibilities of a new 'third way.' The transformation begins by extending AI beyond metropolitan centres through targeted literacy programs and region-specific solutions. This geographic inclusivity ensures all communities participate in and benefit from AI advancements, preventing the concentration of technological power in already-privileged areas.
Simultaneously, India must balance cultivating homegrown expertise with attracting global talent. Competitive research fellowships and strengthened industry-academic partnerships can create a thriving ecosystem where domestic innovation flourishes alongside international collaboration.
The country should leverage this intellectual capital to tackle fundamental research challenges that plague current AI systems. By addressing factual accuracy, reasoning capabilities and computational efficiency, India can position itself as a centre for meaningful innovation rather than incremental improvement. This focus on foundational breakthroughs would distinguish India's contributions in an increasingly crowded field where superficial advances often overshadow substantive progress.
As AI computing demands grow, with data centres potentially consuming 21 per cent of global energy by 2030, India's leadership in renewable energy becomes strategically vital. With nearly half its power capacity already coming from clean sources, India can establish international benchmarks for sustainable AI development.
Perhaps most importantly, India must pioneer governance frameworks that balance innovation with societal well-being. Drawing on its experience building inclusive digital systems, India can develop approaches that protect individual rights while promoting collective benefits. This balanced governance would ensure that AI advancement serves humanity while accelerating technological capacity, a distinction that could ultimately define India's contribution to global AI development.
The Long Game
When the IPL launched in 2008, few predicted its global impact. India's AI journey follows a similar path: the vision is clear, the talent is ready and the infrastructure is in place. Now comes the exciting part: building AI solutions that take India from a rising competitor to a global leader.
When I heard Prime Minister Modi speak at the Paris AI Action Summit, one line stayed with me: 'No one holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny other than us.' Reflecting among global leaders and technologists, I was reminded that success in AI isn't about winning the first innings – or even the first match. It's about building the kind of pitch where everyone has a chance to innovate, contribute, and thrive.
Vilas Dhar is a global AI policy expert and President of the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, a philanthropy focused on exploration, enhancement and development of AI and data science for the common good. Views expressed are personal