Talent, data hurdles primary barriers for India's AI ecosystem: Report

Shortage of skilled talent and a lack of data standardisation are the primary constraints facing India's artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem, rather than market concentration or exclusionary conduct by big tech firms, a report by policy think tank The Dialogue said on Wednesday.

The study, titled 'Competition, Innovation, and Market Structure in India's AI Ecosystem', suggests that while the sector is in a rapid "developmental and expansionary phase", structural deficits in the talent pipeline and data usability are emerging as major concerns.

According to the report, which surveyed 308 stakeholders, including startups, business users, and consumers, 47.2% of respondents identified talent availability as a significant barrier to competitiveness -- ranking it jointly as the top challenge alongside customer adoption.


"Talent availability is emerging as a critical constraint on AI competitiveness. Beyond a large technology workforce, AI development requires specialised skills to build, train, deploy and scale AI systems," Bhoomika Agarwal, Senior Programme Manager at The Dialogue, said.

The findings further revealed that data usability is a bigger hurdle than scarcity. Approximately 63.2% of AI developers cited a lack of data standardisation as their most significant challenge, far outstripping concerns over copyright (44%) or data scarcity (42%).

Notably, only 15% of respondents felt that government-held datasets were readily accessible.

The study also highlighted the deeply embedded nature of open-source AI in India. A striking 96.2% of AI startups and developers respondents reported some reliance on open-source models and tools, with 62.3% reporting 'high' reliance.