India has secured the tenth position globally with $1.4 billion in private investment in Artificial Intelligence during 2023, according to a new United Nations report. The 2025 Technology and Innovation Report by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) highlights that India and China are the only developing countries with significant AI investments worldwide.

India has also improved its position on the 'Readiness for Frontier Technologies' index, climbing to 36th place in 2024 from 48th in 2022. The index evaluates countries based on ICT deployment, skills, research and development activity, industrial capacity, and access to finance.

Breaking down India's performance across categories, the country ranks 99th for ICT, 113th for skills, 3rd for R&D, 10th for industrial capacity, and 70th for finance. The report noted that India, along with Bhutan, Morocco, Moldova, and Timor-Leste, improved their human capital positions due to more schooling years and higher proportions of high-skill employment.

The global AI landscape shows the United States leading with $67 billion in private investment, representing 70% of worldwide AI funding. China holds second place with $7.8 billion, while India ranks tenth with $1.4 billion. The report projects AI market value to reach $4.8 trillion by 2033.

Beyond AI, India is making strides in electric vehicle manufacturing. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari recently announced the country's goal to become the world's largest EV manufacturer by 2030. This ambition builds on India's growing automobile industry, which has already surpassed Japan to become the third-largest globally, behind only the US and China.

The UNCTAD report identifies several strengths in India's AI ecosystem:

• A large talent pool of approximately 13 million developers
• Government collaboration with private sector and academia
• Centers of excellence at institutions like IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, and others
• The India AI Mission approved in 2024 to strengthen innovation

Brazil, China, India, and the Philippines are specifically mentioned as developing countries that are performing better than expected based on their income levels. The report also notes that India has specialized expertise in nanotechnology and is among the top countries for GitHub developers and GenAI projects.

Despite the progress, the report warns that AI could affect 40% of global jobs, potentially creating challenges related to automation and job displacement. It recommends investing in reskilling and workforce adaptation to help AI enhance employment opportunities rather than eliminate them.