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Building a Viksit Bharat: AI, Neuroscience, and the vision for India's tomorrow
India is coming up as a serious challenger, due to its large talent pool, a dynamic startup environment, and a government fully behind digital transformation.
AI Image / ImageCourtesy: Rajesh Mehta
India stands at the cusp of a technology revolution and is poised to redefine a "Viksit Bharat" (A Developed India) through technological disruption, where artificial intelligence (AI) and human-computer interaction (HCI) will be core ingredients that will shape the future.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterates that the direction of India's strategy over the next decade should be technology and AI-focused and that technology should be at the forefront of an inclusive growth path.
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, has noted that "India will be a big export economy and will benefit greatly from AI," while Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, remarked that "India is not just a rising technology hub but a global leader in driving digital innovation that will shape the future."
On the international stage, the AI race is intensifying between the United States and China. The U.S. is ahead in innovation, while China has been catching up through government-sponsored initiatives and big amounts of data. In this arena, India is coming up as a serious challenger, due to its large talent pool, a dynamic startup environment, and a government fully behind digital transformation.
A critical question arises: What could revolutionize AI to its next stage? The answer lies in how AI systems replicate the processes of the human brain, particularly in mimicking "human uncertainty" during decision-making.
The ability of the human brain to figure out the uncertainties and to predict the consequences of these events is necessary for effective decision-making, especially in more complex environments. A study on dissociable neural correlates examines how the different parts of the brain respond to uncertainty and influence decision-making strategies.
For instance, the right front area of the brain plays an important role in facilitating exploration during uncertainty in financial sectors. Machine learning-based models, which are designed to predict market trends under “uncertain” conditions could improve the Indian financial sector's efficiency by more than 15 percent and reduce the overall cost to the industry by nearly ₹3.5 trillion a year.
Another part of the brain's physiological area is very important for random searching, which may be applied in AI systems having the purpose of processing trial and error or innovation layouts such as drug discovery. The Indian pharmaceutical industry, which was valued at more than $50 billion in 2023, can be notably aided through the use of AI systems that imitate this like-human exploration. This technology can, in particular, speed up drug discovery processes by more than 30 percent.
The impacts of AI in India are already evident, and this is just the beginning. According to a NASSCOM report, AI-driven diagnostic tools have reduced the time required for diagnosing pathological disorders by nearly 40 percent, saving over 200,000 lives through early intervention. In agri-tech, AI-based models that predict weather patterns and optimize crop yields are expected to increase farm productivity by 20 percent, contributing an additional ₹2.5 trillion to the GDP by 2025.
Parallel to these developments, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), like those being developed by Neuralink, led by Elon Musk, are poised to create a technological revolution. In India, similar advancements are being made, particularly in BCIs for individuals with disabilities. A pilot project in Kerala showed that BCIs could improve communication capabilities by 80 percent for people with severe motor impairments.
By integrating neuroscience into AI systems, India can create more robust and human-like decision-making models, which can be applied to HCI technologies to develop adaptive interfaces. For example, a study by IIT Delhi found that employees using adaptive BCI systems experienced a 25 percent increase in productivity, with a 40 percent reduction in mental fatigue.
Interesting work on closed-loop HCI AI mechanisms explores a very unique approach of integrating technology-aided “nudges” to enhance user interaction in real-time. This research focuses on using peripheral nerve stimulation to deliver closed-loop feedback nudges within interactive systems, influencing user behavior and decision-making in real time for a human-like experience.
The implications of this research are profound, particularly as India integrates closed-loop feedback mechanisms into AI and HCI systems. This approach aligns with India's broader goal of becoming a global leader in AI and HCI by developing systems that are not only technologically advanced but also deeply attuned to human needs and behaviors.
Models attuned to human needs and behavior have led to even C-DAC, under the Ministry of Information and Technology in India, to work on PARAM Siddhi AI, complex deep learning models, and other NLP models for sentiment analysis, complex situation navigation, etc.
A report by McKinsey suggests that AI could improve the efficiency of India's public sector by 25 percent, aiding the government to save ₹1.5 trillion annually while AI-driven tools could streamline tax collection by up to 30 percent
By 2030, India aims to be a global leader in AI, with a projected market size of $500 billion. This growth will be driven by continued investment in R&D, with over ₹100 billion allocated to AI research in the 2024-2025 budget. The Indian government's initiative to introduce AI and HCI into the curriculum at all educational levels aims to equip 100 million students with the necessary skills by 2030 – creating a future for a “Viksit Bharat” – where technology serves as a force for good.
(Rajesh Mehta is a leading US India Expert focussing on areas like Market Entry, Innovation, Geopolitics, and Public Policy, and Rohan Hundia, CEO & Managing Director of Unada Labs, is a pioneering tech founder driving cutting-edge innovations in AI and HCI, shaping the future of intelligent systems.)
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of New India Abroad.
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