India is entering a critical phase in the global artificial intelligence revolution. With a large pool of engineers, technology professionals, and data scientists, the country has many of the resources required to become a major force in AI. However, retaining skilled professionals remains one of the key challenges that could influence India's ability to achieve this ambition.
Rajat Khare, venture capitalist and founder of Luxembourg-based Boundary Holding, believes India's technology talent is one of its greatest strategic assets. Yet a significant portion of Indian professionals working in advanced technology fields continue to pursue opportunities overseas, attracted by higher compensation, advanced research facilities, and exposure to global technology ecosystems.
For India to strengthen its position in artificial intelligence, Khare believes the country needs to create an environment where highly skilled professionals can build careers, conduct research, and develop innovative companies domestically.
India’s Growing AI Ambitions
India already has a substantial digital infrastructure and a rapidly expanding technology ecosystem. Government-backed initiatives to develop domestic artificial intelligence capabilities are also creating new opportunities for researchers
One of the country's major advantages is its enormous linguistic diversity. India has 22 officially recognized languages and hundreds of regional languages and dialects. This creates an opportunity to develop AI systems capable of understanding not only multiple Indian languages but also the cultural and contextual differences associated with them.
Multilingual AI could have applications across education, healthcare, public services, agriculture, financial inclusion, and local commerce. AI tools designed around India's linguistic diversity could potentially reach communities that are underserved by technology developed primarily for English-speaking markets.
Why Retaining Talent Matters
India produces a large number of highly skilled technology professionals, but many eventually move abroad in search of better research opportunities, compensation, infrastructure, and career growth.
Rajat Khare has highlighted this challenge as an important consideration for India's AI ambitions. According to him, India's technology talent pool represents a significant national advantage, but that advantage can be weakened when experienced professionals leave for international opportunities.
Addressing the issue requires more than simply increasing the number of technology graduates. India needs an ecosystem capable of retaining experienced researchers, engineers,
Stronger collaboration between universities and businesses could help bridge the gap between academic research and commercial innovation. Increased funding for AI research and deep-tech startups could also give researchers and more opportunities to develop their ideas within India.
Creating an Environment for AI Innovation
Several measures could help India retain more of its technology talent and strengthen its AI ecosystem.
Increase AI research funding: Greater investment in research centers and AI laboratories could provide researchers with access to computing resources, advanced infrastructure, and opportunities to work on ambitious projects.
Strengthen industry-academia collaboration: Universities and technology companies can work together on research, training, and commercialization, allowing academic discoveries to move more efficiently into practical applications.
Support deep-tech startups: AI-focused startups require patient capital because many advanced technologies take time to develop. Increased investment can help founders build products, hire skilled teams, and scale within India.
Create stronger incentives for researchers: Fellowships, research grants, doctoral programs, and competitive compensation can make domestic research careers more attractive to highly skilled professionals.
Connect with the global Indian talent pool: Indian-origin researchers and technology professionals working abroad can contribute through collaborations, mentorship, investment, and participation in national technology programs, even when they do not permanently relocate.
These measures could help India transition from being primarily a supplier of global technology talent to becoming a major destination for advanced AI research
India’s Multilingual AI Opportunity
India's linguistic diversity could become one of its most distinctive advantages in artificial intelligence.
AI systems that can understand languages such as Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, and other regional languages could expand access to digital services for millions of people. More importantly, successful multilingual AI needs to understand cultural context and local patterns of communication rather than simply translate words between languages.
Such technology could help governments communicate more effectively with citizens, allow small businesses to access digital tools, and improve the delivery of services in rural and underserved communities.
This makes India's AI opportunity broader than building commercial products. Artificial intelligence could become an important tool for economic development, inclusion, and public service delivery.
Building India’s Global AI Leadership
India has many of the fundamental ingredients needed to become a global AI leader: a large technology workforce, an established digital ecosystem, a growing startup environment, and a vast domestic market.
The challenge is creating the conditions that allow this talent and infrastructure to generate sustained innovation within the country.
Rajat Khare has emphasized that India's economic growth could create increasingly competitive opportunities for technology professionals and . The combination of expanding markets and government support for AI could provide a stronger foundation for domestic innovation.
However, long-term leadership will depend on how effectively India attracts, retains, and develops its best talent.
India's brain drain does not have to remain a permanent feature of its technology ecosystem. By investing in research, supporting deep-tech strengthening industry-academia partnerships, and creating attractive opportunities for skilled professionals, the country can build an environment where talent chooses to innovate domestically.
For Rajat Khare, retaining and nurturing India's technology talent will be an important factor in determining whether the country becomes a global AI leader. India's opportunity is significant, but converting that potential into lasting leadership will require sustained investment in the people developing the technologies of tomorrow.
Source : https://www.businesstoday.in/impact-feature/story/rajat-khare-believes-india-can-lead-the-worlds-ai-revolution-by-just-stopping-brain-drain-478096-2025-05-28