India Ranks Among Top 10 Emerging Markets in AI Readiness

According to the World Bank’s report, India and Artificial Intelligence: Seizing the Development Opportunity, India has ranked among the top 10 emerging-market performers in AI readiness, driven by its large technical workforce, globally integrated IT sector, and robust digital public infrastructure. Highlighting growing investor confidence, private AI investment in the country more than tripled to ₹36,231.70 crore ($4.1 billion) in 2025, up from ₹10,604.40 crore ($1.2 billion) in 2024. Additionally, employment across Global Capability Centres (GCCs) expanded to 2.36 million professionals in 2025 from 1.9 million the previous year, demonstrating the central role of skilled talent and tech-driven services in powering economic growth. While noting that the long-term impacts on labor markets remain uncertain, the World Bank emphasized India’s potential to leverage AI as a developmental catalyst to elevate public service delivery and boost national productivity. To ensure the equitable distribution of technological benefits, the World Bank recommended comprehensive policy actions aimed at upgrading AI-enabling infrastructure, fostering an adaptive business environment, expanding AI access, and building workforce capacity. Through initiatives like AgriConnect, the World Bank Group is investing in targeted, localized "small AI" tools to extend technology access to underserved populations and support workers during technological transitions. The report stresses that South Asian economies stand to gain the most by adapting technologies to local contexts, particularly via low-cost applications suited for low-resource environments. Supported by these interventions, the accompanying South Asia Economic Update projects the region to grow by 6.9% in 2026—maintaining its position as the world's fastest-growing economic bloc—with India well-positioned to lead AI integration across public services and productivity domains.