India fares poorly in AI research, had just 1.4% share in paper contributions, ranks 14th

India, despite its burgeoning tech industry and the rapid rise of AI startups, lags significantly behind global leaders in artificial intelligence (AI) research.

India ranks 14th in the world in AI research, contributing a mere 1.4 per cent of the total paper submissions at the top 10 AI conferences globally between 2018 and 2023, according to a report by the Economic Times, which cites a study by AI accelerator Change Engine.

This places the country far behind the United States and China, which dominate the field with 30.4 per cent and 22.8 per cent of global contributions, respectively,

The disparity is alarming, particularly given India’s vast pool of technology talent. Leading educators and experts attribute this gap to systemic issues, primarily a lack of funding and insufficient research infrastructure.

V Ramgopal Rao, vice-chancellor of BITS Pilani, highlighted the stark contrast in investment between India and its global counterparts. He pointed out that China’s spending on just two of its top universities — Peking and Tsinghua — matches the entire higher education budget of India’s Ministry of Education. This underinvestment is a critical factor hindering India’s ability to compete on the global stage.

Moreover, the growth of AI research in India appears to be stagnating. While India achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.5 per cent in AI paper presentations from 2014 to 2023, this rate is considerably lower than the growth observed in other Asian economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, where growth rates range between 20 per cent and 30 per cent. This trend raises concerns about India’s ability to keep pace with these rapidly advancing nations.

Experts emphasize that the issue extends beyond funding to the very structure of India’s research ecosystem. Balaraman Ravindran, head of the Data Science and AI Department at IIT Madras, pointed out that the focus in many of India’s academic institutions is on the quantity of publications rather than their quality.

This emphasis on volume over impact discourages researchers from aiming for the most prestigious conferences and journals, which are crucial for gaining international recognition and influence in the AI field.

In response to these challenges, the Indian government has approved a substantial investment of Rs 10,372 crore for the India Artificial Intelligence Mission over the next five years. However, there are concerns that spreading this funding across too many institutions may dilute its impact. Experts suggest that concentrating resources on a select few universities could be more effective, mirroring strategies used by countries like China to build world-class research capabilities.

Rao of BITS Pilani underscored the need for greater investment in higher education. He noted that India has just 255 researchers per million people, compared to 4,245 in the United States. Furthermore, India’s investments in higher education as a percentage of GDP are declining, which could further exacerbate the country’s struggles in AI research.

In an effort to address these challenges, BITS Pilani has established an AI centre of excellence at its Goa campus, funded by a $1 million contribution from alumni.

The institution is also taking steps to attract and retain top talent, including raising the retirement age and offering competitive positions to experienced professionals in the AI field.

The study by Change Engine, which analysed India’s performance in AI research, stresses the need for the country to accelerate its growth rate to at least 40 per cent annually over the next five years. Achieving this would not only increase India’s global share in AI research to 5 per cent but also serve as a catalyst for broader innovation within the country’s tech ecosystem.

However, this will require a concerted effort to address the underlying issues of funding, infrastructure, and research quality that currently hinder India’s progress in this critical field.