By Amit Chadha
For organisations across the country, AI has moved from experimentation into large-scale implementation, making it indispensable for businesses to stay competitive. This will only reinforce engineering’s position at the forefront of technological progress and business innovation. According to the Nasscom Patent Pulse 2025 survey, patents filed in India in 2021-2025 were 7x higher compared 2010-2015, with many focused around AI-driven engineering solutions.
India enters the global stage with some undeniable advantages like an unmatched workforce, and a formidable presence across software, embedded systems, electronics, mechanics, and other emerging technology verticals. Breakthroughs in small-language models and applied AI further cement India’s role as the world’s AI-engineering workbench.
The talent-ready workforce that organisations seek augurs well with what India is manifesting through its young and educated population. This has tempted many leading global manufacturing and service companies to proactively relocate their design and production centres to India, capitalising on the expertise and ease of doing business.
Digital twins to intelligent factories
Industrial focus is today shifting from connectivity and automation towards higher levels of autonomy and continuous improvement. This will give rise to intelligent factories where AI, IoT, robotics, and edge computing converge to create self-optimising production systems.
Digital twin technology kick-started this revolution by creating virtual replicas of assets and processes, enabling simulation, monitoring, and predictive insights. As a logical next step, they will be now embedded with AI-driven autonomy. Intelligent factories will be able to monitor, analyse, and optimise their own production processes without any human intervention, leading to faster, and more flexible manufacturing systems.
For example, if a leading sports shoe manufacturer is using a digital twin to optimise its footwear production lines, each shoe design will be mirrored in the twin along with materials used, stitching patterns, and assembly processes. The twin will simulate how different materials behave under pressure, how stitching patterns affect durability, and how assembly speed impacts quality. This will enable the brand to achieve faster prototyping, thus reducing waste and improving consistency, with accelerated time-to-market.
The EV and SDV revolution
India’s electric vehicles landscape is seeing a marked shift, moving from niche adoption to mainstream mobility. This is aided by falling battery costs, expanding charging infrastructure, and supportive government incentives. A parallel trend is the transformation of vehicles to software-defined platforms creating what is known as software-defined vehicles (SDVs). Together these are transforming India’s mobility landscape as vehicles are increasingly able to interact with users and make smart decisions. The progress achieved in this direction will also invite more automotive giants to engage with India’s tech talent and to set up their base at the cusp of innovation.
From Make in India to Design in India
India is rapidly evolving from an engineering back office to a global design hub fueled by strategic investments in AI and innovation. This coupled with people-first AI adoption policy is democratising AI education. This ensures talent development keeps pace with adoption during rapid technological change.
The nation is also shaping a responsible AI future anchored in transparency, accountability, and ethical design. The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act provides the privacy backbone for AI systems, while Niti Aayog’s Responsible AI principles, and participation in GPAI/G20 forums signal alignment with global best practices. These initiatives will inspire confidence among international players to establish their innovation hubs in India.
From pilot to performance
AI adoption has moved from pilots into full-scale deployment, transforming societies, systems and enterprises. Gen AI, while still in its infancy in India, is set to mature rapidly, powered by national initiatives like IndiaAIMission and strategic programmes and partnerships across the public and private sectors.
Design in India evolution will not only strengthen India’s domestic manufacturing but will simultaneously scale its role in export-oriented industries like automotive, aerospace, and energy. Among the most transformative deployments is medtech, where deep learning models and digital twins are revolutionising precise medical image segmentation and interactive visualisation. This helps clinicians to navigate complex procedures with greater efficiency, showcasing the ability to scale AI from pilot projects to life-saving performance.
The next decade will also see hybrid intelligent machines reshaping industries and cobots with human-like dexterity executing high-stakes tasks in defence, automotive navigation, and aeronautics. Together, these advances mark India’s journey to becoming a self-reliant global hub for AI-powered engineering.
With significant investments in foundation models India is emerging as a co-architect in the global engineering research and development (ER&D) space. This journey, fuelled by innovation and a commitment to sustainable, ethical engineering, positions India as the ultimate destination for manufacturers and service providers seeking end-to-end, future-ready solutions.