The recently announced Stanford AI Index 2026 has lots of detailed data points about how AI at large, and everyone associated with the AI industry, is marching ahead in full steam. This is a rich 423-page report, where India has a substantial presence.
Of course, reading the Stanford University report on AI may not be everyone’s cup of tea, so this article is specifically highlighting all the India-specific mentions in the report. There’s some bright spots and a few worth worrying about.
Following is the breakdown of all the key India-specific insights:
According to the Stanford AI Index 2026, India produced 7.6% of all AI publications in the field of computer science in 2024. This puts India ahead of the US, ranking third globally, behind only China (at 17.8%) and Europe (at 11.1%) as a whole.
On GitHub, India accounts for 5.2% of all open-source AI projects which are ranked at least 10 stars, and India’s contribution to open-source AI projects continues to grow even as China’s share has slowed down since 2019, as per the Stanford AI Index 2026.
Also read: India becoming world’s most important AI developer hub, says GitHub
In terms of patents, this is where a lot of work needs to be done in India. The AI Index 2026 suggests India’s share of global AI patents is miniscule at just 0.4% which represents just over 500 patents till 2024. But India’s portfolio of patents shows roughly 80% overlap with the US and China. This means India is innovating in the same AI domains as the US and China, not doing anything drastically different.
This is possibly the greatest recognition of India in the Stanford AI Index 2026, proclaiming that India holds the top spot globally in terms of relative AI skill penetration – which is three times the global average on LinkedIn. What this means is that on LinkedIn profiles of Indian members AI skills appear three times more than anywhere else in the world.
However, there’s a notable gender gap as well, which the Stanford AI report highlights. Indian men list AI skills at 3.1x the global average versus only 1.9x for women, which highlights the acute disparity within the country when it comes to AI skills being developed across the workforce.
With respect to AI talent, India ranked second in the world in terms of absolute number of top AI authors and inventors, behind only the US and in front of Germany, for instance. But this is because India’s top AI talent resides in the US, a fact highlighted in the Stanford AI Index 2026 with respect to India incurring the largest net outflow of AI talent in 2025 than anywhere else in the world. But as domestic opportunities grow, India is beginning to transition from a net exporter of AI talent to retaining the talent and giving it reason to stay home.
Also read: India AI Impact Summit 2026: Microsoft pledges $50 billion to bridge Global South AI divide
In this regard, India (alongside the UAE and Saudi Arabia) highlighted the fastest growth in AI talent concentration, growing over 100% between 2019 and 2025, according to the Stanford AI Index 2026.
India is one of the top adopters in the workplace, as over 80% of Indian respondents reported using AI at work on a regular basis, as per the Stanford AI Index 2026 report. This places India alongside China, Nigeria, UAE, and Saudi Arabia, countries that are all much ahead of most North American and European countries where workplace AI adoption numbers hover around the 50% mark.
Organisationally, around 85–90% of Indian respondents reported their organisation actively supports AI strategy and literacy. However, there’s also some worrying news.
According to the Stanford AI Index 2026, India also recorded the highest growth in AI nervousness of any country surveyed, where AI nervousness grew by 14% between 2024-2025. The report contextualises this as Indians’ growing awareness of AI risks as they get more familiar with AI tools.
Also read: Stanford AI Index 2026 report: 5 key insights on AI adoption and competency