Eco Survey: Demographic advantage, responsible approach position India to benefit from AI

As concerns grow around Chinese AI DeepSeek while India remains steadfast in safeguarding users’ data and privacy, the Economic Survey 2024-25 on Friday said the country's demographic advantage and diverse economic landscape position it uniquely to benefit from AI, which can serve not as a crisis but as a catalyst for equitable economic transformation -- positioning India to thrive in an increasingly automated world.

Achieving benefits from AI requires significant investments in education and workforce skilling, supported by enabling, insuring, and stewarding institutions.

"These mechanisms can help workers adapt to changing demands while providing essential safety nets. By fostering collaboration between policymakers, the private sector, and academia, India can align AI-driven innovation with societal goals," the Survey highlighted.

With AI research and development currently concentrated in the hands of a few, very large companies that control the resources to erect high entry barriers, AI adoption in place of humans presents the risk of concentrating the benefits of automation.

Technological developments that worsen inequality can erode any possible benefit that the innovation brings, leaving the public sector responsible for addressing the cost of the transition.

"This has led to calls for a more responsible approach to AI adoption, especially in a country like India where employment numbers make the magnitude of impact something worth paying attention to," the Survey emphasised.

The International Labour Organisation estimates that nearly 75 million jobs globally are at complete risk of automation due to AI.

Anxieties about the effects of AI remain high in India as well, considering the country is a services-led economy.

Among white-collar workers, an IIM Ahmedabad Survey highlights how 68 per cent of the surveyed employees expect their jobs to be partially or fully automated by AI within the next five years.

With trends expected to continue towards even higher AI adoption by the private sector and the market, NASSCOM estimates that the Indian AI market will grow at 25 to 35 per cent CAGR by 2027.

According to the Survey, the rapid advancement of AI presents both unprecedented opportunities and significant challenges for labour markets worldwide.

"In this context, as policymakers, it is important to pay attention to the evolving technological landscape and the potential impact it can have on the labour market," said the Survey presented in the Parliament.

India is likely to launch its own safe and secure indigenous artificial intelligence (AI) model within six months at an affordable cost, according to the government. The Indian AI model will help the country emerge as a more reliable technological powerhouse of ethical AI solutions in the days to come.

Backed by a high-end common computing facility, the IndiaAI mission is now closer to customising indigenous AI solutions for the domestic context using Indian languages.