India’s rapid adoption of artificial intelligence could significantly boost productivity and economic growth, but experts say the country must address digital inclusion and measure AI penetration more effectively if those gains are to be broadly shared.
The issue was discussed at a panel organised by the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, where policymakers and economists argued that India’s AI ambitions must be matched by efforts to improve access, participation and data collection across the country.
India’s AI ecosystem is currently led by global technology companies such as Google, Nvidia and Anthropic, while domestic firms including Sarvam AI are developing sovereign AI models. Non-profit organisations such as Wadhwani AI and Global Innovation System, working with the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), are also focused on expanding AI adoption.
Even as AI adoption accelerates, experts noted that digital inclusion remains uneven. From digital public infrastructure to internet access, disparities persist across age, gender, education and geography.
A recent report by The Quantum Hub (TQH) on digital inclusion found that “meaningful participation” in the digital economy continues to vary significantly across these demographic groups.
Speaking at the event, Aparajita Bharti, Co-Founder of TQH, said India needs more comprehensive data on digital penetration. She argued that while India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) has become a global benchmark, promoting similar systems abroad requires a deeper understanding of how digital services are used within India.
“Other nations have alternate methods of payment, so to make the case, we need to measure beyond scale,” Bharti said.
Prof. Rajat Kathuria, economist and professor at Shiv Nadar University, said India’s digital public infrastructure had enabled millions to participate in markets that were previously inaccessible.
According to Kathuria, the next challenge is using digitisation to improve productivity while moving up the value chain by exporting more complex digital products and protecting the country against technological displacement.
Dr Deepak Mishra, Distinguished Visiting Professor at ICRIER, described artificial intelligence as a productivity tool rather than a consumer product.
“If the AI boom is true, then the productivity boom has to be true,” he said, citing evidence from the United States that greater exposure to emerging technologies helps create future innovators rather than merely expanding the pool of users.
Industry estimates reinforce that optimism. According to EY India, generative AI could add between USD 359 billion and USD 438 billion to India’s GDP by 2030 while increasing productivity in the IT services sector by 43-45% over the next five years.
The panellists said these projections underscore the need to pair AI adoption with greater digital inclusion, wider access and better measurement of technology penetration so that productivity gains translate into long-term innovation and broad-based economic growth.
