🇮🇳 India Has Nearly 17 Million Developers
Anshul Ramachandran, from AI‑coding platform Windsurf (formerly Codeium), highlighted that India is now home to nearly 17 million software developers, second only to the U.S.
over 17 million developers in India are actively building on GitHub, a Microsoft-powered platform supported by Copilot. According to GitHub, this represents a 28% growth, positioning India as one of the fastest-growing developer communities worldwide.
Additionally, India now ranks second globally in GitHub Education users, contributions to public generative AI projects, and open-source contributions. GitHub Education provides essential resources for students and educators to learn and teach software development.
The company’s latest Octoverse report highlights a surge in generative AI activity in India, indicating that AI has progressed beyond the experimental phase 2023, with many developers and companies now focusing on tangible outcomes.
“Our latest Octoverse report affirms that India’s developer community is the fastest-growing developer population on the planet. India’s rise as a global tech titan is now inexorable. Not only this, but India’s booming developer community is using AI to build AI in record numbers, making it evermore likely that the next great multinational will come from India,” said GitHub CEO, Thomas Dohmke.
India is quickly becoming the second-largest developer community contributing to public generative AI projects on GitHub, following the United States. Contributions from Indian developers have surged 79% from last year. Notably, India’s involvement in these projects has grown by 95% year-over-year, ranking it third globally, just after the US and Hong Kong (SAR).
India’s developers are making impactful contributions to society through open-source projects like ERPNext. This project has the highest number of contributions under GitHub’s “For Good First Issue” category, connecting developers with initiatives to solve societal challenges and promote sustainable development.
Additionally, Indian open-source communities are leveraging GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered coding tool, to create digital solutions. For instance, the Open Healthcare Network, an open-source group, focuses on enhancing healthcare delivery and management.
GitHub forecasts that India will surpass the US as the world’s largest developer community by 2028. During its tenth annual developer conference, GitHub Universe ’24, the company introduced significant updates to its Copilot-powered platform.
Copilot is now evolving into a multi-model system, giving developers access to top AI models, including Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Google’s Gemini 1.5 Pro, and OpenAI’s GPT-4o, o1-preview, and o1-mini, which all offer advanced coding support. GitHub also unveiled GitHub Spark, a new AI tool that lets users create personalized, fully functional web apps using only natural language.
As a Microsoft Copilot-powered platform, GitHub enables developers to build, scale, and deliver secure software. Today, more than 100 million developers rely on GitHub, including over 90% of Fortune 100 companies. Additionally, over 77,000 organizations have adopted GitHub Copilot.
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👥 AI Won’t Replace Developers — Just Help Them
Ramachandran argues that warnings about AI displacing developers are often exaggerated — sometimes “a very good excuse” for layoffs, or a way for AI companies to market their tools
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. Instead, he sees AI as a productivity booster, not a job eliminator.
🌟 India: A Core Market for AI Tool Adoption
Windsurf values India as its second-largest market after the U.S. and is actively expanding teams and considering building GPU clusters there. He praised Indian developers and IT firms for being early and enthusiastic adopters of AI
💡 Tactics Behind AI Narratives
According to Ramachandran, some AI company leaders amplify fears of AI replacing human coders to drive model sales. He suggests the narrative often serves business motives rather than reflecting reality
🎯 Why It Matters
Massive talent pool: With ~17 million coders, India’s developer ecosystem is a fertile ground for generative AI tools.
Boost, not replace: AI is positioned as a “co-pilot” — enhancing coding efficiency without removing the human element.
Industry acceleration: High AI adoption rates in India could accelerate global standards in software engineering.
🔠In Perspective
In the broader AI discourse:
The discourse on AI “replacement” often serves seller aims more than reflecting actual trends.
Instead, expect AI-assisted workflows to dominate — helping developers write, debug, and deploy faster.
India’s sheer developer numbers make it a key battleground for adoption and innovation.
Want to explore more? I can share insights from Windsurf’s CEO Varun Mohan on how AI is reshaping developer roles and startup dynamics, including his vision of “vibe coding” and building lean, agile teams.
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