India ranks fifth in the world for GenAI inventions but reports highest growth

In the last decade, from 2014 to 2023, India has seen the highest average annual growth in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) innovation, a study by the United Nations has found. The “WIPO Patent Landscape Report on Generative AI” report further showed that India ranks fifth in the number of GenAI inventions from a country with 1,350 inventions. With close to 40,000 inventions, China leads the race almost six times more than second on the list – the US, followed by Republic of Korea, and Japan. 

Overall, 4,000 GenAI-related inventions were filed in this period, along with 75,000 scientific publications published. In 2023 alone, over 25% of all the GenAI patents were published and 45% of all GenAI scientific papers were published. Image and video data dominate GenAI patents, followed by text and speech/music. 

Notably, an EY report in May found that Gen AI could boost India's GDP by $359-438 billion by 2030, representing a 5.9-7.2% increase. Over seven years, the cumulative impact could reach $1.2-1.5 trillion, adding 0.9-1.1% to annual growth.

Given the rapid growth and impact of technology in the country, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched the 2-day Global IndiaAI Summit on July 3, 2024. Inaugurated by IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, this saw dignitaries like Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for MeitY, S Krishnan, MeitY Secretary, and NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh in attendance. In his speech, Vaishnaw said that while AI is a major tool for problem-solving, there is a simultaneous need to contain associated risks, solutions for which will come through a global approach.