India’s Place in the Global AI Shift

Humanity is about to undergo a transition from the traditional to the AI-based technological era. India’s engineering, data science, and IT professional army are the main assets that it can count on to help it lead the digital transformation. But still, a huge amount of this talent, (which is approximately 15% of the world’s AI workforce), is available in the foreign market.

Khare views this situation as a limiting factor for India’s potential: 

“This overabundance is not helping India’s technology sector as it should ideally do,” quotes Rajat Khare, a venture capitalist and the founder of Boundary Holding, which is a Luxembourg-based deep-tech investment firm.

The continuous departure of India's AI talent

The brains behind AI in India have always been migrating to other countries to do their work and historically have been the drive behind global innovation, is also one of the reasons why India has not been able to create long-lasting innovation ecosystems.

Khare believes that this problem is not something that India has to face but that it can be solved by improving the country's infrastructure and policies to:

- Encourage stronger collaborations between academia and industry

- Ensure that there is sufficient funding for AI and deep-tech research

- Establish a positive environment for the innovators and researchers.

"India has a huge tech talent pool which is one of the major contributors to the country's growth, however, it is increasingly being drained by the lure of higher returns," Khare points out.

The Indian AI Field is Rising

India's digital infrastructure is on the fast track to full development. The government of India’s announcement of developing a large-scale language model entirely in India—which will be supported by more than 18,600 GPUs—is a big step towards the country's AI independence.

India's AI has a unique world view: the AI of the West has focused primarily on a single language—English—while India has linguistic diversity as its main issue. India has 22 languages and innumerable dialects; hence it can put together AI systems that are not only cultur-ally linguistically but also able to give services to wide-ranging customers.

Thus, the technology landscape in India is not only getting stronger but also its position in the world as a supplier of AI products that are considerate of different cultures will become more favorable.

Steps India Must Take to Retain Talent

To halt the migration of the finest AI talent and transform India into a global innovation epicenter, it is crucial to take five important measures:

1. Increase Research Funding in AI

Besides, establish more centers of excellence—particularly in Tier-2 cities—to promote decentralization of innovation.

2. Create Incentives to Lure Talent

To this end, introduce AI fellowships, PhD scholarships, and pay scales for researchers that are competitive 

3. Support Deep-Tech Startups

This can be done by granting AI-driven access to venture capital that is less strict and mentoring networks.

4. Collaborate Globally

Bring Indian-origin researchers working abroad back home to participate in national projects remotely.

5. Showcase India’s Ambition

The hosting of events such as the 2026 Global AI Summit in India can represent the first move in the leadership race for the global AI agenda.

The Power of Multilingual AI

It could be the diversity of India’s cultures and languages that makes the country’s AI its biggest advantage. A model trained not only to understand and respond in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, etc. but also to do so contextually can change the way AI serves real humans.

Such models can:

• Give power to rural users and small businesses

• Enhance the delivery of government services

• Reach out to non-English speaking audiences

This not only makes India's AI commercially powerful but also socially impactful.

From Brain Drain to Brain Gain

India’s shifting role in the global technology arena from a mere supplier of tech workforce to an innovator of world-class tech has the potential to turn the brain drain that had seemed to be an unavoidable fate into a challenge that proactive policy, funding, and vision of reversal can overcome.

"Rajat Khare opines, 'The government has been willfully bringing to light AI, but the real challenge will be in retaining and nurturing the skills. This will tell whether we are the forerunners or the followers.'"

India's investment in the intellect of its leaders, encouragement of its innovators and provision of support to its risk-takers will position it not just as a participant in the world's AI revolution but a pioneer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is Boundary Holding's role in AI investment?

Boundary Holding, which was created by Rajat Khare, is making investments in deep-tech and AI startups that have a real impact on the healthcare, mobility, and security sectors.

Q2. What is India’s long-term goal in AI?

India is aspiring to set up an AI ecosystem that is self-reliant, lead global innovation, and change its status from a tech outsourcing hub to a provider of world-class AI products.

Q3. Why is brain drain a problem for India’s AI sector?

Brain drain results in India losing its top AI researchers and engineers to foreign countries, which in turn weakens India's innovation ecosystem and slows down technological progress.

Q4. What steps can India take to stop brain drain in AI?

India can provide research funding at higher levels, enhance the collaboration between industry and academia, set up AI-focused fellowships, and offer competitive compensation to keep its brightest minds.

Q5. What makes India’s AI initiative unique?

India's AI projects are concerned with developing multilingual systems that showcase its cultural and linguistic diversity—thus creating AI systems that are able to serve millions in their local languages.

Q6. How can multilingual AI benefit India?

Multilingual AI is capable of making technology more inclusive, which in turn will enable the smooth communication of rural communities, local businesses, and government programs in their mother tongues and thus lead to more efficient operations.