India has advanced to the fifth position in global digital economy rankings and secured the fourth spot on the CHIPS-AI index, indicating a rapid digital growth trend in a competitive landscape. According to a report by the ICRIER-Prosus Centre for Internet and Digital Economy (IPCIDE), India has outperformed major developed nations like Germany, France, Japan, and Canada in digital performance.
The report highlights that India has generated $328 billion in digitally delivered trade and boasts the world’s second-largest AI talent pool. Additionally, the country accounts for approximately 50% of BRICS digitally delivered services and ranks behind only the United States, China, and Singapore in AI performance.
Among the top five digital economies globally, three, including China, Singapore, and India, are now from the Indo-Pacific region, signaling a shift towards a tripolar digital order alongside the traditional North Atlantic pole. The report also notes a significant change in the global digital landscape, with 72% of AI users now located in developing countries, with India and China contributing nearly 40% of global AI adoption.
Pramod Bhasin, Chairperson of ICRIER, emphasized the importance of leveraging AI, enhancing innovation capabilities, and strengthening digital trust for India’s future growth. Despite commanding 26% of global AI users, India only attracts 1% of global private AI investment, indicating a critical disparity. The nation ranks second globally in AI talent but faces challenges in securing long-term venture capital and computing infrastructure.
India’s sustained competitiveness relies on mobilizing risk capital, expanding compute access, fostering university-startup collaborations, and establishing AI commercialization pathways, as outlined in the report. While AI adoption is on the rise globally, advanced chips, computing infrastructure, and large language models remain concentrated in a limited number of countries and companies.
