Projected AI Expenditure in India to Hit $9.2 Billion by 2028: Study

Synopsis
A recent report indicates that AI spending in India is projected to grow by 35% annually, reaching $9.2 billion by 2028. The need for improved data quality, governance, and cloud migration is critical to harness AI's full potential.
Key Takeaways
- AI spending in India expected to reach $9.2 billion by 2028.
- 54% of organizations cite data quality as a challenge.
- 62% recognize the need for better data governance.
- Investment in data integration and ML platforms is increasing.
- Cloud adoption seen as essential for AI success.
New Delhi, April 15 (NationPress) Spending on artificial intelligence (AI) in India is anticipated to surge at an annual rate of 35 percent, reaching $9.2 billion by 2028, according to a report released on Tuesday. This underscores the necessity for enhanced data quality, governance, and cloud migration to fully realize AI's capabilities, as noted in the report by Qlik, which features a new research paper from the International Data Corporation (IDC).
Approximately 51 percent of Indian enterprises utilize AI solutions hosted in the cloud; however, challenges arise from poor data quality. The report identifies data quality as a significant hurdle, with 54 percent of Indian organizations acknowledging it as an obstacle, exceeding the figures for Australia at 40 percent, ASEAN at 40 percent, and the average for the APAC region at 50.4 percent.
Moreover, 62 percent of Indian organizations recognized the importance of enhancing data governance and privacy policies, while 28 percent faced difficulties related to AI data bias, surpassing ASEAN's 21.8 percent and Australia's 20 percent, as per the report.
To tackle these issues, Indian enterprises are channeling investments into data integration, machine learning (ML) deployment platforms, and analytics to formulate AI-ready data strategies. Strengthening data integrity, transparency, and compliance is essential for successful AI implementation.
“Indian organizations view cloud adoption as a pivotal step toward AI success,” stated Varun Babbar, Vice President of India at Qlik.
“To foster AI-driven innovation, businesses require a robust, scalable data infrastructure that supports high-performance AI applications,” he added.
The ‘IDC InfoBrief’ report revealed that 36 percent of enterprises are currently utilizing Generative AI (GenAI), with 46 percent planning to invest within the next 12 to 24 months.
India is comparable to Australia and New Zealand, with 20 percent of organizations possessing advanced AI capabilities, although it trails behind ASEAN, where 27 percent have achieved this level.
“GenAI is revolutionizing various sectors in India—from compliance in retail to fraud prevention in finance and predictive maintenance in manufacturing,” remarked Deepika Giri, AVP for Big Data Analytics, Blockchain, and Web3 Research at IDC Asia/Pacific.
Nonetheless, to unleash its complete potential, organizations must prioritize trusted data, solid governance, and infrastructure readiness to scale AI both effectively and responsibly, she noted.