India Inc. intends to increase spending on AI: Deloitte report

Indian enterprises intend to increase their investments in artificial intelligence, given the returns they’ve seen on existing AI investments, according to the Deloitte State of AI report. The report, based on a survey of 300 senior executives in India focuses on how organizations can succeed in the age of AI.

In the past few years, both Indian private and public sector companies and the central and state governments have invested in multiple AI use cases across diverse application areas. Industry leaders are optimistic about AI and its potential to transform organisations and industries and drive economic growth, with 86% of the respondents planning to increase their AI spend in the next fiscal year encouraged by the returns they see from existing AI investments.

Prashanth Kaddi, Partner, Deloitte India said, “AI is indeed coming of age in India, with the early adopters in India looking to move from focusing on efficiency levers to more strategic value generating outcomes. Going ahead, the top focus areas for organizations are a well-defined AI implementation strategy, organizational AI governance as well as AI-enabling their workforce.”

Early adopters are beginning to use AI for strategic outcomes rather than for efficiency gains, having developed some level of expertise. Start-ups are seeing faster returns on AI investments helped by their smaller size, flexible operations, and innovation friendly learning culture, while global capability centres are mature AI adopters due to the lead they have gained in AI adoption.

A well-defined AI strategy is essential for success, including the choice of operating model, execution approach, and enabling commercial models and technologies, it found. A significant AI risk preparedness gap exists among surveyed organizations – mitigation strategies can range from operational practices to organization-wide risk management frameworks.

“The Deloitte “State of AI” in India study provides key insights into the emerging AI landscape, with large and small organizations addressing both global and India markets, making rapid strides in their AI journey. These findings dovetail with the Deloitte AI Institute India vision which brings together the ecosystem of startups, research and industry to transform businesses and organizations using AI as a driver,” said Saurabh Kumar, Partner, Deloitte India. However, demand still outpaces supply of AI skills. Enterprises are dealing with this through short term fixes, like hiring and outsourcing work, to long-term investments into upskilling their workforce.

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