India is struggling to keep pace with China in artificial intelligence (AI) and technological advancements, and the reasons go beyond just funding, says Nithin Kamath, founder and CEO of Zerodha. Kamath recently pointed out how China has overtaken India in scienti” c achievements thanks to China’s adoption of a long-term strategy of innovation, whereas India continues to be entrenched in short-term improvisation.
China’s AI Breakthrough: A Wake-Up Call for India
Why isn’t India leading in AI?
Kamath wrote on a social media post that India’s effort is not unfamiliar. “In the 1960s-70s, India and China had roughly the same per capita GDP. They began reforming in the 1980s and by 1990 they had surpassed our per capita GDP, he said. Philosophically and economically, you can argue as much as you like, but their scientific and technological advance is equally clear no matter the field—DeepSeek is only the latest in a long line of such examples.
The Real Issue: Short-Term Thinking
According to Kamath, India’s main obstacle is not only the absence of funds or aggressive investors, but short-termism (i.e. “Problems are typically addressed through a patchwork or the Jugaad mentality,” he said. “This is true in business, politics, and regulatory approaches. However, when those types of problems call for deep, sustained thinking, Band-aid solutions are not the answer.
Indian technology visionaries have for years been debating whether the lack of such deep-tech companies in India is due to a poor definition of deep-tech, or due to investors simply being risk naive. However, Kamath argues that the issue runs deeper.
“For example, you can’t just buy GPUs and expect Indians to create groundbreaking AI applications,” he explained. Without appropriate talent and a supportive ecosystem that drives innovation, then all the GPUs in the world will be useless.
Brain Drain: Why India’s Best Minds Leave
Kamath further pointed to the lack of success in India to retain leading scientific manpower. “We need to seriously start building our research capabilities,” he emphasized. Although India produces excellent researchers, we are not providing an ideal environment for them and that is why maximum of those move to the US.
India has seen a steady brain drain of talented scientists, engineers, and AI researchers who move abroad for better opportunities. In contrast to China, which has been investing in research infrastructure for long years, India is not investing in the essential of basic research over long periods.
This is not clear cut outcome and that will not be visible at once,” Kamath cautioned. For China, it was a period of concentration spanning for *two decades”. If we begin to invest in research and scientific capacity today we can expect results in 5 to 10 years,” etc.
The Urgency to Act: AI is Reshaping the World
Kamath’s worries emerge within a period when AI is transforming different industries around the globe. Countries making an investment in artificial intelligence today will shape the global economy tomorrow. However, India still suffers from a lack of developing a strong AI ecosystem.
“Being mediocre won’t be an option,” Kamath cautioned. If India fails to address these systemic issues, it risks falling further behind in AI and technology.
The Road Ahead: What India Must Do
To compete on the global stage, India needs to:
- Fund basic research in artificial intelligence, quantum computers, and deep tech.
- Develop an innovation-conducive environment for sustaining long-term science missions.
- Attract and retain top talent by providing competitive opportunities domestically.
- Encourage risk-taking in investments to build deep-tech startups.
India can lead in AI but this is contingent on the absence of a vision and strategic blueprint which otherwise it will find itself at a disadvantage against leading forces such as China and the USA. Kamath’s warning serves as a crucial reminder—the time to act is now.
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