Brazil and India: Two Paths, One Lesson

Reflections on Technology, Strategy, and Purpose

By Marconi Fabio Vieira, PMP®

 Introduction: Between Bridges and Purposes

In one of the many turns of my professional journey, I received an unexpected invitation in 2008 — one that still echoes in my heart: to publish an article in Projects & Profits, the journal of Icfai University Press, in Dehradun, India. The article, titled “Communications Management Using Project Websites,” was born out of a lecture I gave at the PMI Global Congress Latin America, and it ended up connecting me deeply with a people, a culture, and a nation for which I hold great affection: India.

More than a decade later, I look back at that experience and realize that it was more than a professional milestone — it was a prophetic seed. India, with all its contrasts and complexities, has become one of the world’s leading powers in information technology and, more recently, in artificial intelligence.

And what about Brazil? We also have talent, centers of excellence, and a passion for innovation. But why didn’t we follow the same path? What can we learn from this story?

India’s Vision: Technology as a National Project

Since the 1980s, India has embraced technology not merely as a tool, but as a strategic axis of social, economic, and cultural transformation. Under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi, a movement began that would lead to the creation and strengthening of the IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology), which became global benchmarks for training engineers, programmers, and scientists.

India didn’t just train talent — it launched them into the world. CEOs like Sundar Pichai (Google), Satya Nadella (Microsoft), and Arvind Krishna (IBM) are global faces of an education deeply rooted in mathematics, logic, and academic discipline.

Over time came outsourcing hubs, startups, innovation clusters in Bangalore and Hyderabad, research institutes, and AI-driven initiatives applied to agriculture, healthcare, and education. India has become, with humility and strategy, an influential voice in the realm of ethical, accessible, and inclusive artificial intelligence.

Brazil: Excellence in Pockets, But No Unified Project

Brazil also boasts respected centers in IT and AI: USP, UNICAMP, UFRJ, UFPE, among others. We produce high-level talent, many of whom shine abroad. We have creativity, adaptability, and an entrepreneurial spirit.

But Brazil has lacked what India had in abundance: long-term vision.

While India aligned government policies, universities, and the private sector around a strategic cause — training technology professionals for the world — Brazil wavered between isolated initiatives, lack of continuity, and the absence of a true state policy in this field.

Today, Brazil’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy (EBIA) shows signs of progress. But we are still far from having something comparable to India’s AI for All movement.

Two Nations, One Lesson

Reflecting on my small but meaningful contribution to the Indian academic community, I realize it symbolizes something greater: the value of seeing far, even with limited resources; of investing in minds, not just machines; of blending tradition and innovation for a shared purpose.

India shows us that it is possible to shape a generation of engineers with ethics, spirituality, and social responsibility, even in the face of massive social challenges. Brazil can — and must — walk this same path. But it will require more than technology: it will demand vision, courage, and commitment to a future that serves not just the economy, but human dignity.

Conclusion: A Call to Purposeful Intelligence

May this text be more than a comparison between two countries. May it be a call. An awakening.

• To leaders of institutions who have yet to grasp the centrality of value-based AI education.
• To governments that need to understand that technological education is sovereignty.
• To young Brazilians who dream of changing the world with code and compassion.
• And to all of us who believe that intelligence without purpose is nothing but computational vanity.

God is raising voices and building bridges. And perhaps, that unexpected invitation from India was, in its essence, a reminder that purpose always finds the way.

Artigo em Inglês

Título: Brazil and India: Two Paths, One Lesson

• Formato APA:
Vieira, M. F. (2025). Brazil and India: Two paths, one lesson – Reflections on technology, strategy, and purpose. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15385642

• Formato ABNT:
VIEIRA, Marconi Fabio. Brazil and India: Two paths, one lesson – Reflections on technology, strategy, and purpose. Zenodo, 2025. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15385642. Disponível em: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15385642.