How is India carving its path in the global tech race?

From a tech perspective, India has long been seen as a place to outsource your tech if you want it done cheaply — and many major corporations have outsourced their development and IT services to India. As a result, India has always been seen as more of a follower in the tech industry rather than a leader.

However, a changing global economy (there are now countries that can be outsourced to cheaper than India) pushed India to change. Some even claim that India could be home to the next Silicon Valley because the Indian government is taking huge strides to improve tech innovation in the country. Let’s look at how.

India is Relaxing Legislation on Technology

In 2015, India was ranked 81st in the world for tech innovation. In 2019, it was ranked 52nd — the country had the biggest climb out of every nation. Part of the reason is the fact there is now far less risk in investing in India (the government has designed it that way).

The economy is far more stable, and tech that was barred before now has its usage rules loosened a little bit. Important techs like online casinos have always been a driver for innovation in the industry, and they make huge amounts of cash for the economy.

You’ll also notice that the government in recent years ditched 86% of the nation’s currency, ruling it invalid — which drove more people to banking tech. It is also becoming a lot better at digital record keeping, which also is a driver of tech.

Moreover, India is introducing rules that will make it easier for the country to compete in three major emerging tech industries. Let’s take a look at them.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

It’s no secret that AI is a part of our everyday lives. It is the ‘big’ tech to invest in right now, with many companies pouring millions into AI research in a bid to become the first to develop certain uses for AI. India wants to become a leader in the AI industry.

Recently, India developed the National Programme on AI, which is meant to outline how the country can benefit from the growth of AI and ensure that India is at the forefront of any major changes to the AI industry. The country especially wants to focus on how AI can be used in healthcare, agriculture, and improvements to the environment — all areas where tech is really focusing right now.

As a result of this strategy, India has closely partnered with many top AI companies, and the results have been astounding so far. Many tech leaders are stating that India will probably be at the forefront of the AI revolution in some way. We wouldn’t be surprised if many of the innovations in AI over the next decade or so were, at least in part, developed in conjunction with Indian companies.

Blockchain

Part of the reason why India invalidated many of its smaller currency denominations a few years ago was an attempt to guide more people toward banking tech, hoping it could lead the world's growth in banking tech — it seemed to work!

India is focusing heavily on developing blockchain tech to improve the security of the financial sector which includes better payments/funds, better verification of identities, and easier trades. This will likely drive a lot of investments into Indian tech since the vast majority of global banks want to utilize blockchain tech in some way.

Blockchain tech can even have uses outside of the financial sector, and many Indian companies are looking at ways the tech can improve the lives of ordinary citizens, such as fully embracing the power of social media to build brands and many other tactics.

Drones

Finally, India wants to be a leader in drone technology. The Indian government believes that by investing in drone technology, it can be a leader in agriculture and public health — two areas where drone technology is being used heavily right now.

They especially want to focus on how drones can improve agriculture through soil mapping and dealing with pests. The rural nature of India also means that drones can be incredibly useful in delivering medication and other much-needed resources.

Of course, the development of drone tech will also benefit various militaries, and that is big bucks in the world of tech. India is going full force in attempting to become a global leader in tech, and we have never before seen this amount of innovation in India.

The younger population of India, and the investment in their education, also ensures that the country will have the right people to work these jobs. This is especially important in the global tech race as many other countries are not having new blood come through the tech ranks due to low fertility rates — unlike those countries, India could thrive here too!