India's AI ambition: Shifting from tenant to producer of intelligence
Rohit Lamba and Raghuram Rajan argue that India risks repeating past mistakes in its AI strategy, becoming a 'tenant of intelligence' rather than a producer. While the new Google AI hub in Visakhapatnam signifies infrastructure development, the core AI models and silicon are foreign-designed, reflecting India's historical focus on outsourcing rather than deep-tech R&D. They highlight India's low R&D intensity (below 1% of GDP) and lack of world-class research universities, contrasting with countries like Korea and Taiwan. The authors warn that relying on diffusion without frontier innovation could compromise India's strategic autonomy and economic future, urging a shift towards building indigenous AI capabilities.
Key Points
- India's current AI strategy, exemplified by the Google AI hub, risks making it a tenant rather than a producer of intelligence.
- The authors criticize India's historical focus on outsourcing and infrastructure development over deep-tech R&D and indigenous innovation.
- India's R&D intensity remains below 1% of GDP, and it lacks world-class research universities, unlike leading tech nations.
- Relying solely on AI diffusion without investing in frontier innovation could undermine India's strategic autonomy.
- The article calls for a fundamental shift towards building indigenous AI capabilities and fostering a generation of scientists.
Exam Facts
- Google AI hub location: Visakhapatnam (600-acre site)
- Infrastructure partners: AdaniConneX, Airtel's Nxtra
- India's R&D intensity: Below 1% of GDP
- Economic Survey 2025-26 finding: Only 2% of world's AI training-data startups in India
- Authors: Rohit Lamba, Raghuram Rajan
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