With the dynamic mix of public and private initiatives, India is at the forefront of digital transformation. A much safer foundation for internet services has been established after almost 1.2 billion Indians enrolled in the government’s Aadhaar programme, regarded as the world’s largest biometric digital identity scheme.

There has been a surge in the use of digital technology after the Goods and Services Tax was implemented, which brought millions more businesses online. As per the G20 deliberations, India is a global champion of Digital Public Infrastructure, where programmes like Aadhaar and Unified Payments Interface were discussed. 

The overall internet access has drastically increased among the population where lower income levels have had the highest internet consumption and subscriber rates due to the competitive offerings of telecom companies. India has continued to lead the world in digital payments, with 100 billion real-time transactions processed in 2023. The nation tries to promote digital ecosystems to create a $1 trillion digital economy by 2025 and establish India as a significant hub for digital innovation and production worldwide.

The emergence of digital engineering

Engineering has transformed into digital engineering in the 21st century. It blended traditional disciplines with data analysis, machine learning, Artificial Intelligence and applied mathematics. The global market for digital engineering is expected to be worth USD 1.3 trillion by 2030, expanding at a 16% CAGR between 2021 and 2030.

The surge in demand for digital engineering services from various industries like manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, healthcare, and energy drives the market. India is well-positioned to lead digital engineering services with a $100 billion market share in ER&D global sourcing spending by 2025.

Sectors like automotive, health technology and manufacturing are significantly impacted by this shift. The digital gap is expected to boost from 25% to 28-29% in 2028, regardless of India’s favourable tech talent landscape. This needs businesses to incorporate new techniques for attaining new talent.

Industry 5.0-led digital engineering is rapidly taking over as the norm, which demands a reconsideration of conventional approaches using cutting-edge technologies like digital twins, robotics, AR/VR, cloud, data and AI for increased productivity, growth, and sustainability. Businesses constantly strive to establish a solid digital foundation to effectively engage with customers and stakeholders.

Scaling the AI and ML capabilities of India

The building and expanding of India’s AI and ML capabilities depend on the strong collaborations between industry and academia. Robust partnerships are inevitable for aligning engineering education with the increasing needs of the AI and ML domains, which provide students with practical exposure to real-world projects and relevant skills.

Prestigious institutes like the Indian Institutes of Technology have been leading the charge by getting involved in research across AI and ML domains like computer vision, NLP and robotics. Institutions like IIT contribute to building innovative AI and ML applications across domains like manufacturing, healthcare and agriculture.

The integration of cutting-edge technologies like AI and ML into engineering education denotes a significant shift which prompts engineering institutions to reorganise their curricula for the digital era. Embracing digital engineering has become inevitable for India to foster innovation and entrepreneurship and maintain sustainable economic growth in this new technological landscape.

The imminent AI revolution brings a significant opportunity for India to maintain its leading position as a global IT hub and lead the world in developing and applying AI technologies. Utilising AI and upskilling the Indian workforce can aid India in harnessing the power of AI to build a more inclusive and sustainable future for the people. Besides these, the initiatives, certifications, events and research conducted by IITs can seize vast opportunities and share the future of AI. 

• Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash