By Ravi Meduri, EVP & CTO, Innominds
India stands at a pivotal moment in the era of the AI revolution. For a country that is the global IT powerhouse and has made significant strides in digital adoption, its potential in AI research and development remains largely untapped. To realise this potential, India must build a sustainable AI ecosystem, one that is rooted in a robust infrastructure, forward-thinking research policies, and an unwavering commitment to innovation. The opportunity is enormous, but it requires a more structured approach to nurture both technological advancements and the talent needed to propel India to a global leadership role in AI.
A Strategic Roadmap for AI Leadership
India ranks second globally in AI research publications, but the focus is more on applied research and not groundbreaking foundational work. Despite being rich in digital talent and innovation capacity, we remain consumers of foundational models and tools built elsewhere. The current approach—relying on adaptation over invention—and the gap between adoption and foundational innovation aren’t helping the cause.
To change this, India needs to commit to building a sovereign, end-to-end AI stack: one that is homegrown, culture-aligned, multilingual, cost-effective, and innovation-driven. This is not just a tech imperative, but a national mission backed by growing momentum.
A truly Indian AI stack encompasses:
- Foundational models trained on Indian languages and datasets
- Infrastructure built and governed by Indian institutions
- Alignment with Indian values, cultural nuances, and policy objectives
- Open AI platforms and orchestration frameworks tailored to our public-sector scale
But make no mistake—the AI stack must go beyond applications to cover infrastructure (compute, storage), models (pretrained LLMs, vision systems), APIs, orchestration frameworks, and safety layers. During his visit to India early this year, Sam Altman called us OpenAI’s second-largest market, but he clearly stated that there is a wide gap between the country’s rich talent and the AI value ownership. It’s time to move beyond asking “how do we catch up?” and begin declaring, “this is how we lead.”
Government investment in core AI research is critical. A comprehensive AI policy that holistically covers research funding, innovation incentives, and regulatory frameworks is necessary. The IndiaAI Mission’s deployment of over 18,000 GPUs marks a major infrastructure milestone. The government’s stated intent to bring compute costs down to under ₹100/hour (~$1.20) signals the affordability-first approach India is known for.
Learning from Global Leaders
Countries that are winning the AI race have taken bold, mission-driven steps:
- United States: Through the DARPA and NSF, the U.S. has made early, deep investments in foundational AI research and infrastructure.
- China: $8.2B fund in 2025, plan for developing 160+ foundation models, and domestic chip ambitions aimed at reducing dependency on Western AI ecosystems.
Recognising AI as a matter of national competitiveness, India must take equally bold steps—not just in funding, but in coordination and execution.
The Other Builders: Industry, Startups, and Academia
AI leadership demands more than government policies. It needs a broad vision with a highly focused, well-concerted effort from the industry, startup ecosystem and the academia. Here’s how each of these can play a key role in taking India to the AI leaderboard.
- Industry must move from adoption to ownership—building India-first models, platforms, and safety layers. Our IT sector can drive scaled innovation across sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance.
- Startups ought to focus more on solving real problems, and obtaining access to high compute and public infrastructure. They need integrated support—shared datasets, cloud credits, and faster go-to-market pathways.
- Academia leads in research volume but must focus on outcomes—open-source models, joint labs, and mission-driven programs that turn theory into real-world impact.
Three Pillars of India’s AI Leadership
| Foundation | Acceleration | Sovereignty |
| · Launch India’s Foundation Model Mission
· Operationalise IndiaAI compute infra · Define India’s AI blueprint (like UPI, Aadhaar) · Pilot low-cost compute for developers |
· Setup National AI Research Fund (DARPA equivalent)
· Launch AI cloud platform · Co-develop indigenous AI hardware · Open middleware/API layers for innovation |
· Build and deploy India-origin AI chips
· Become a global AI hub · Build AI-led infra in health and education |
The Path Forward: A Unified AI Strategy
India is undisputed leader in the IT/ITES space. To lead in AI, India must orchestrate its strengths across policy, platforms, people, and partnerships. The opportunity is immense. With the right focus on infrastructure, funding, and talent development, India can emerge as a global leader in AI, not just in terms of adoption but as a research powerhouse that shapes the future of technology.
The next decade belongs to those who build. India must not just participate in the AI revolution—we must shape it. At Innominds, we are committed to accelerating this transformation through AI-first engineering, sovereign model research, and deep-tech innovation.
Let’s architect India’s AI future—stack by stack, layer by layer, breakthrough by breakthrough.