The report further noted that Brazil, China, India, and the Philippines are developing countries outperforming in technology readiness.
United Nations: India ranks 36th out of 170 nations on a global index measuring a country’s readiness for frontier technologies, improving its ranking from last year, according to a UN report.
The 2025 Technology and Innovation Report, issued by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), stated that India ranked 36th in 2024 on the ‘Readiness for Frontier Technologies’ index, improving its position from 48th in 2022.
The index combines indicators for ICT deployment, skills, research and development (R&D) activity, industrial capacity, and access to finance.
India ranks 99th for ICT, 113th for skills, 3rd for R&D, 10th for industrial capacity, and 70th for finance. Bhutan, India, Morocco, the Republic of Moldova, and Timor-Leste improved their positions in human capital due to more years of schooling and a greater share of high-skill employment in their working populations, the report said.
The report further noted that Brazil, China, India, and the Philippines are developing countries outperforming in technology readiness.
“It might be expected that countries with higher per capita GDP are better prepared for frontier technologies. Overall, this is true but… some countries perform far better than their levels of income may suggest, as indicated by their distance from the regression line of the index score on GDP per capita,” it said.
Developing countries need to prepare themselves for a world that is rapidly being reshaped by AI and other frontier technologies. A useful measure in assessing national preparedness to use, adopt, and adapt frontier technologies is the UNCTAD Frontier Technologies Readiness Index.
“Developed countries lead the ranking, but some developing countries, notably Singapore, China, and India, hold prominent positions.” The report also notes that China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States show scientific strength in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The United States leads the world in terms of private investment in AI, at $67 billion in 2023, or 70 per cent of global AI private investment. The only developing countries with significant investments were China in second position, with $7.8 billion, and India in tenth position, with $1.4 billion.
The report noted that AI is expected to reach $4.8 trillion in market value by 2033, becoming a prominent force in digital transformation.
However, access to AI infrastructure and expertise remains concentrated in a few economies. Just 100 firms, mainly in the US and China, account for 40 per cent of global corporate R&D spending. AI could impact 40 per cent of jobs worldwide, offering productivity gains but also raising concerns about automation and job displacement.
The benefits of AI-driven automation often favour capital over labour, which could widen inequality and reduce the competitive advantage of low-cost labour in developing economies.
However, AI is not just about replacing jobs – it can also create new industries and empower workers. Investing in reskilling, upskilling, and workforce adaptation is essential to ensure AI enhances employment opportunities rather than eliminating them, the report said.
