India gearing to lead global AI revolution much sooner than 2047

India is accelerating towards AI dominance with plans for 14,000 GPUs, AI democratization, and its first indigenous AI chip in four years. Can it lead the AI revolution?

- By Punam Singh

As India accelerates its journey towards AI dominance, a high-profile panel at the Dataquest Digital Leadership Conclave 2025 convened to discuss the nation’s roadmap to becoming an AI superpower by 2047. The discussion featured Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT, Prof. S. Sadagopan, Founder Director, IIIT-Bangalore, Dr. Sridhar Mitta, Founder & MD, NextWealth Entrepreneurs, Raman Roy, Jury Chair and Chairman of Quatrro BPO Solutions, and was moderated by Pradeep Gupta, Chairman, CyberMedia Group.

The session addressed critical aspects of India’s AI growth, including talent development, democratization of AI, the startup ecosystem, GPU access, and the timeline for India’s first indigenous AI chip, bridging the Talent Gap and empowering universities with AI tools.

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw opened the discussion by stressing the importance of industry-academia collaboration in preparing the next generation for Al-driven industries. He announced that 240 universities across India are being equipped with AI and semiconductor design tools from leading global players like Synopsys and Cadence. However, he emphasized that this is only the beginning, and called on academia to scale such initiatives across hundreds more institutions to ensure students graduate with hands-on experience relevant to industry needs.

“Students must gain real-world experience in cutting-edge technology before they leave college. Academia should engage deeply with industry problems to create a workforce ready for AI’s demands.”

Prof. Sadagopan echoed this sentiment, stating that democratizing AI education is key to creating a large pool of AI professionals across India, not just in metro cities. He pointed out that leading tech firms like IBM and Microsoft are stepping up to train 10 million Indians in AI over the next five years.