* 80% of Indian business leaders say AI will directly help shape nation’s economic trajectory, as India propels to become global AI powerhouse
* 73% of Indian executives believe India will emerge as a leading global AI nation by 2030
India is entering a defining phase in its economic transformation as artificial intelligence (AI) is set to move beyond experimentation to become a foundational force powering national growth, according to a new study by the IBM (NYSE: IBM) Institute for Business Value and IndiaAI. The research reveals that AI could contribute more than $500 billion to India’s economy by 2030, positioning the country among the world’s most dynamic AI-driven economies.
Titled ‘From promise to power: How AI is redefining India’s economic future’, the study underscores a powerful convergence of ambition and urgency: four in five business leaders believe AI investments will directly influence India’s GDP growth, while 73% expect India to emerge as a leading global AI nation by 2030.
Looking ahead, the research also reveals a critical inflection gap as 72% of surveyed organizations acknowledge they are behind global peers in AI adoption. Bridging this divide between ambition and execution will be pivotal in determining India’s leadership in the global AI economy.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Shri S Krishnan, Secretary - Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India said, “India is no longer just participating in the global AI conversation, we are helping shape it. Our vision is clear. AI must evolve as an extension of our people’s aspirations, driving inclusive growth and national progress. Guided by our vision of Viksit Bharat, we are advancing a human centric approach to AI rooted in trust, ethics, and national sovereignty. This joint IndiaAI and IBM study is a timely contribution that will help align policy, industry, and innovation to unlock AI’s full potential for India’s economic future.”
“AI has the potential to become one of the most powerful growth engines for India’s economy,” said Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India & South Asia. “What will set India apart is not just the scale of adoption, but how organizations build trusted AI agents and systems on strong data foundations, hybrid architectures, and a workforce empowered to work alongside AI. With the right investments in skills, governance, and infrastructure, India can translate AI ambition into sustained economic impact,” he added.
India’s AI moment: Converging on a sovereign hybrid model
For regulated sectors and public systems, a sovereign AI foundation is fast becoming a strategic necessity. 74% of surveyed executives say control over where data resides is essential, pointing to a growing convergence around sovereign, hybrid-by-design architecture. This does not imply isolation, rather when combined with open standards it enables organizations to access global innovation while retaining control over sensitive workloads. This model is emerging as the trust layer that will allow India to scale AI confidently and on its own terms.
Organizations are increasingly adopting a hybrid approach to balance performance, cost, and control, with 7 in 10 surveyed executives saying it improves control over data location without significantly increasing costs.
Data and AI infrastructure will be key
India may be racing toward an AI-powered future, but the data reveals a more complex story. 57% respondents cite uneven data quality and 77% lack of accessible, affordable, and secure cloud infrastructure are major barriers to AI readiness. Despite the excitement around advanced AI, the findings indicate that Indian enterprises’ ability to scale AI is shaped not by the sophistication of the models but by the readiness of enterprise data and infrastructure. These foundational technical choices emerge as a key factor in transforming AI from experiment into an operational engine that delivers enterprise-wide impact.
Building India’s AI talent pipeline at scale
India has made significant progress in building an AI talent pool, but the study points to a growing skills gap. Today, only about 30% of employees possess the level of AI literacy businesses say they require. By 2030, respondents indicate that figure must rise to nearly 57%. This suggests the total AI talent needed in India will be more than 350 million by 2030. The findings highlight the pressure to rethink how India learns and works—through new education models, redesigned career pathways, and clearer guidance on which skills matter most in an AI-driven economy. Initiatives like IndiaAI FutureSkills are responding by embedding AI fluency into education and corporate training, with data and AI labs expanding across Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, helping broaden access to AI skills development and to address this gap nationwide.
Other key findings from the study:
Enterprises are preparing to move from pilots to AI at scale
15% of surveyed organizations are currently scaling AI through significant cross-functional investments, while the remaining 85% are in pilot-stage AI initiatives.
Sovereign and hybrid cloud architectures are foundational to scaling trustworthy AI
62% of respondents say data localization strengthens trust, while 77% pointed out that Indian-based cloud capacity is critical for trustworthy AI.
67% of surveyed executives say AI innovation will be constrained without stronger domestic capability.
Focus on integrating robust AI governance and deeper ecosystem partnerships
68% of surveyed enterprises cite gaps in AI governance as a barrier to scaling, while 45% say they are piloting or have already embedded governance practices into everyday systems.
Partnerships are becoming more focused as 68% of surveyed executives say India needs an ecosystem-oriented approach to AI adoption.
68% of enterprises are already developing, optimizing, or scaling external AI partnerships.
To view the full study, visit: https://ibm.biz/india-economy
Methodology
This report draws on multilayered research combining quantitative surveys, pulse-based sentiment tracking, expert insights, and secondary analysis to understand the state and trajectory of AI adoption in India. It surveyed 1,500 Indian executives across industries representing diverse organizational sizes and leadership roles, spanning CEOs, CTOs, CAIOs, CDOs, Chief strategy officer / head of strategy, and departmental heads managing cloud and AI strategies under union and state governments. A supplementary pulse survey of 405 Indian executives was conducted by the same agency to capture rapid shifts in sentiment around AI governance, operating model readiness, security practices, and ecosystem partnerships.
About IBM
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud and AI, and consulting expertise. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Thousands of governments and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM's hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to effect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM's breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and consulting deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM's long-standing commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service. Visit www.ibm.com for more information.
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