A key government official in India claims that just about 300 persons worldwide are capable of training a basic AI model from scratch, and 8–10 of them are Indian.
Twenty of the 300 persons in the world who are capable of training a foundation model from scratch, according to someone I spoke with, are Indian. At the Moneycontrol and CNBC TV18 AI Alliance NCR Chapter in Gurugram, Abhishek Singh, assistant secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), stated, “Of course, if we can attract them here, it would be a Bhabha moment.”
“We must approach AI in the same way that we approached atomic energy or space exploration. We were catching up to the West at the same period. A moonshot was involved. However, we were able to draw in the brightest minds, and they created something of which we are proud,” he continued.
Singh added that the government, especially in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, wants to train individuals in data tagging and analysis.
Companies that provide IT services and technology products claim to have trained thousands of workers in artificial intelligence (AI) over the course of the previous year, according to a recent Moneycontrol article. But when it comes to essential AI goods and services, India is now experiencing a skills deficit.
Less than 2,000 senior AI engineers are actively developing core AI products and services in India, despite the great numbers boasted by IT services providers, according to data seen by Moneycontrol from specialized hiring firm Xpheno. Among other things, core AI goods and services include AI-based platforms, tools, and applications.
Xpheno stated that the total amount of active, available talent in India that possesses the necessary abilities, experience, and exposure to fundamental AI is slightly less than 21,000. This refers to the group of aspiring AI developers.
This stands in stark contrast to the 650,000–700,000 workers that leading tech corporations allegedly train in artificial intelligence (AI), according to industry association Nasscom.
Using Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys as examples, the former claimed to have trained 350,000 workers in AI skills and the latter that eight out of ten staff are prepared for AI. Accenture is providing AI upskilling to 250,000 workers, while HCLTech has taught 50,000 workers. IBM has pledged to train two million individuals worldwide in artificial intelligence by 2026, while Microsoft India intends to train two million people by 2025.
