AI in India: Only 4% Jobs at Risk as Investment Triples to $4.1 Billion, Says World Bank

India Faces Lower AI Job Disruption Than Developed Markets

Only slightly over 4 per cent of jobs in India are at risk of disruption from artificial intelligence, significantly lower than the mid-teens share seen in most developed economies, according to World Bank Group Executive Director Neelkanth Mishra1

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. Speaking at the IndiaAI Mission and World Bank Group's India launch of the World Development Report 2026, Mishra emphasized that the report views AI in India primarily as a technology that can support workers rather than replace them. This finding positions developing economies at a lower risk of AI job disruption while maintaining comparable potential benefits from AI adoption as advanced economies.

Private AI Investment Triples Despite Low Corporate Adoption

Private AI investment in India more than tripled to $4.1 billion in 2025 from $1.2 billion in 2024, representing a 242% increase3

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. However, only 23% of surveyed formal firms in India use artificial intelligence, which is one third of the US level4

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. The number of professionals employed by Global Capability Centres rose to 2.36 million in 2025 from 1.9 million a year ago. Despite these encouraging investment figures, the World Bank noted that the long-term economic and labour market impact of AI remains uncertain, requiring careful monitoring and strategic policy interventions.

Enterprise Data Accessibility Remains Critical Challenge

Neelkanth Mishra highlighted that 99 per cent of data held by corporations remains untouched by AI, making access to enterprise data a key challenge that India needs to address as AI adoption expands2

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. Companies are reluctant to share their data with AI models because once shared, control is lost. Mishra described this as a complete market failure in the data market. India's Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture could help address this problem by enabling controlled data sharing where the owner of the data still retains control even as it makes it available for certain usage. This framework could unlock significant economic benefits from AI while ensuring data owners maintain oversight.

India Ranks Among Top 10 Emerging Markets in AI Readiness

India is among the top 10 leading emerging-market performers in AI readiness and is well positioned to harness the technology, helped by its large technical workforce, globally integrated IT sector and digital public infrastructure, the World Bank said3

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. India ranks third in AI competitiveness and is the second-largest contributor to GitHub AI projects, reflecting strong developer and innovation capacity5

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. The IndiaAI Mission has onboarded 38,000+ GPUs at a subsidized rate of Rs. 65 per hour, with 20,000 more announced in February 2026 for broader national AI access. AIKosh now hosts more than 9,500 datasets and 273 models, while twelve teams have been selected to develop indigenous foundational AI models.

Focus on Small AI and Local Adaptation Recommended

The World Bank Group is investing through AgriConnect in small AI targeted and locally adapted tools aimed at ensuring that the benefits of AI reach a wider section of the population while supporting workers through the transition3

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. For most of South Asia, the biggest gains from AI are likely to come from adopting and adapting the technology to local conditions, including through small AI applications suited to low-resource settings. The World Development Report 2026 calls on developing countries to focus on adapting existing AI tools to local needs rather than spending heavily on building advanced systems from scratch. The report highlighted applications such as AI-supported weather forecasts reaching more than 30 million farmers in India.

Infrastructure and Skills Gaps Need Urgent Attention

Mishra stressed that wider AI adoption would require access to energy and complementary skills, stating that making sure there are complementary skills is important for someone to be able to use AI, including basic arithmetic or language skills1

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. The report recommended strengthening workforce skills, creating a more business-enabling environment and improving physical as well as digital infrastructure. Complementary measures would also be needed to reduce barriers to AI adoption by small firms, promote local AI innovation and establish a clear regulatory framework that reduces uncertainty while safeguarding data security and privacy. Mishra cautioned that regulations should be carefully designed to avoid slowing technological innovation, with the government expected to seek industry feedback through a consultation paper.