Everywhere All at Once: Why India Is Emerging as the World’s Safest AI Bet

India may soon become the biggest and safest player in the global AI revolution — not by building advanced models, but by using them at an unprecedented scale.

In recent months, global tech giants like OpenAI, Alphabet (Google), and Perplexity AI have started offering free access to their paid AI tiers in India, targeting the country’s massive and tech-savvy population. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Go plan is now free for Indian users for one year, Google’s Gemini Pro is bundled for Reliance Jio’s 505 million subscribers, and Perplexity AI has partnered with Bharti Airtel to offer its Pro version to over 350 million users.

📲 Why India Is the Perfect AI Playground

This wave of partnerships marks a strategic pivot toward India’s scale and digital enthusiasm. Telecom operators benefit by bundling AI tools as new “utilities” rather than entertainment add-ons, while AI companies gain hundreds of millions of real-world users to test, train, and expand their ecosystems.

In essence, India has become a planet-sized social experiment: What happens when cutting-edge AI is made freely available to over a billion people?

💡 AI as a Productivity Revolution

Government think tank NITI Aayog believes that widespread AI adoption could triple the productivity of India’s informal workforce, raising average output from $5/hour to $15/hour by 2035. The potential economic boost could add $500–$600 billion to India’s GDP over the next decade.

While such projections are optimistic, experts agree that AI tools could finally help bridge India’s long-standing skills gap by offering language-based learning, automation, and task guidance in real time.

🧠 Language Models as Equalizers

Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Gemini are uniquely suited for India’s linguistic and educational diversity. They allow users to “talk their way into competence” — simplifying coding, translation, form-filling, and research for users who previously lacked access or skills.

India’s online behavior already reflects this readiness. YouTube and social platforms are dominated by Indian creators explaining everything — from tech tutorials to government processes — in regional languages. This cultural curiosity aligns perfectly with the new AI-assisted learning era.

🌍 India’s Role in the Global AI Ecosystem

India may not yet rival global chipmakers or AI infrastructure giants, but its strength lies in human capital. With the right access, India’s young, multilingual, and digitally active population could transform into the world’s largest real-time AI workforce.

As columnist Mihir Sharma writes, “The biggest AI play in the world might be India itself — not as a chipmaker or algorithm owner, but as everything else.”

If large language models truly democratize skills and productivity, India’s vast underutilized workforce could become the single most important factor in the next global growth story.