India Leads AI-Ready Nations with Young Workforce and Surging Talent

India is at the forefront of an AI-led transformation, where technology is driving productivity, innovation, and job creation.

"India has one of the youngest workforces in the world, with over 65 per cent of the population under 35. This large, tech savvy talent base can be trained and adapted for AI driven industries, creating a strong foundation for innovation, digital services, and future ready jobs," the document added.

In preparation for the 'India AI Impact Summit 2026', 12 Indian AI startups selected under the Foundation Model Pillar engaged in Roundtable chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and presented their ideas and work.

According to the statement, these startups are working in a diverse set of areas including Indian language foundation models, multilingual LLMs, speech-to-text, text-to-audio and text-to-video; 3D content using generative AI for e-commerce, marketing, and personalized content creation; engineering simulations, material research and advanced analytics for data-driven decision-making across industries; healthcare diagnostics and medical research, among others.

As per Stanford AI Index Report 2025, India leads the world in AI talent acquisition, with an annual hiring rate of about 33 per cent. As per global data on GitHub AI projects by geographic distribution, India was the second-largest contributor worldwide in 2024, accounting for 19.9% of all AI projects.

According to Standford University's AI Index Report 2025, India the relative penetration of AI skills was 2.5 times greater than the global average across the same set of occupations.

Having one of the most AI-literate workforces globally, second only to the United States, India also enjoys significant potential comparative advantages from its extensive domestic data ecosystems across key sectors such as health, agriculture, finance, education, and public administration, said the statement.

According to World Bank's South Asia Development Update Report, AI-related job opportunities in South Asia are heavily concentrated in India and Sri Lanka, with India accounting for the majority of listings.

In India, 5.8 per cent of white-collar 2025 listings required AI expertise, driven by the southern technology corridor including Bangalore (11 per cent share of AI jobs) and Hyderabad (9.57 per cent), followed by Pune (6.95 per cent) in Maharashtra, with Chennai (6.62 per cent) also featuring prominently.

- IANS