Part 8/13:
To bridge this, panelists advocated for deeper collaborations with academic institutions, increased R&D funding, and incentivizing talent development at the grassroots level, especially in tier 2 and 3 cities. Moreover, attracting and retaining AI talent in India requires creating an ecosystem that supports research, experimentation, and enterprise.
Funding, Regulation, and Policy: Creating a Supportive Environment
The government’s role was critically examined. Panelists acknowledged ongoing initiatives, such as a ₹10,000 crore fund of funds for AI startups and a dedicated ₹10,700 crore fund announced recently, which signal strong financial backing. However, bureaucratic delays, especially in access to compute resources, remain bottlenecks.