India Emerges as a Global Leader in AI Skill Penetration
India has emerged as the top country in terms of AI skill penetration and concentration of AI talent, according to a recent report by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), in partnership with Salesforce and Draup.
The report highlights that India’s ‘AI Skills Penetration Factor’ is 3.09, the highest among all G20 and OECD countries, indicating that India’s tech talent is three times more likely to have or report AI skills than other countries.
High Growth Potential in AI Talent Demand
The report also predicts that India will witness high growth in the demand for data science and AI professionals, estimating demand for more than one million professionals by 2024. The potential for AI-led disruption in India’s core sectors alone has a potential impact of $500 billion on India’s economy in gross value added (GVA) terms by 2026.
To achieve this potential, concerted efforts are required from the government, industry, and academia to ramp up AI skilling initiatives at scale.
The Role of AI Startups in Driving Innovation
India currently has more than 1,900 AI-focused startups that are providing innovative solutions, primarily in the areas of conversational AI, NLP, video analytics, disease detection, fraud prevention, and deep fakes detection.
These startups are playing a crucial role in driving innovation in the country’s AI ecosystem.
Demand-Supply Gap in Data Science and AI Talent
As of August 2022, India’s total demand for data science and AI talent stood at 629,000, with an installed talent base of 416,000. The current demand-supply gap in data science and AI in the country stands at 51%, which is significantly lower than in major economies such as the US.
Currently, the top five roles, namely ML engineer, data engineer, data scientist, data architect, and DevOps engineer, constitute 73% of all AI job openings in the country. At the same time, the two top roles, namely ML engineer and data engineer, constitute 46% of total installed talent.
India: A Prime Destination for Digital Talent
With over 1.6 million digital talent pool (as of FY2022E), India has emerged as the prime destination for talent globally, says the report. The report also emphasizes the importance of having people with the right domain expertise and business context to build predictive models, plan simulations and scenarios, and cluster data.
These skills are in high demand and have huge potential to optimize business efficiency and build trust among customers and employees.
| Key Data Point | Value |
|---|---|
| India’s AI Skills Penetration Factor | 3.09 |
| Rank in AI skill penetration | 1st among G20 and OECD countries |
| Rank in AI scientific publications | 5th among G20 and OECD countries |
| Estimated demand for data science and AI professionals in India by 2024 | >1 million |
| The potential impact of AI-led disruption in India’s core sectors by 2026 | $500 billion GVA |
| Number of AI-focused startups in India | >1,900 |
| Current demand for data science and AI talent in India | 629,000 |
| Installed talent base for data science and AI in India | 416,000 |
| Demand-supply gap for data science and AI talent in India | 51% |
| Top 5 AI job roles in India | ML engineer, data engineer, data scientist, data architect, DevOps engineer |
| Top 2 installed AI job roles in India | ML engineer, data engineer |
| India’s digital talent pool (as of FY2022E) | >1.6 million |
This table provides a quick summary of the main data points mentioned in the article, which highlight India’s current position as a leading country in AI skill penetration and talent concentration.
Wrapping Up
India’s emergence as a global leader in AI skill penetration and concentration of AI talent bodes well for the country’s future growth prospects. However, there is a need for concerted efforts from the government, industry, and academia to ramp up AI skilling initiatives at scale.
AI startups are playing a crucial role in driving innovation in the country’s AI ecosystem, and the demand for data science and AI talent is expected to witness high growth in the coming years.
With over 1.6 million digital talent pools, India has emerged as the prime destination for talent globally. The potential for AI-led disruption in India’s core sectors is enormous, and concerted efforts are required to achieve this potential.
