As artificial intelligence becomes critical to national resilience, India is showing strong intent but uneven progress in adoption across sectors. Experts at a recent discussion noted that while the country has built robust digital public infrastructure, execution still lags behind ambition.
Arundhati Bhattacharya, President and CEO of Salesforce India, pointed out a unique trend. “The Indian govt seems to be ahead of enterprises, which normally is not the case. I have the good fortune of looking at various countries in South and Southeast Asia. In a country like Singapore, for instance, at the enterprise level, usage of AI is far more than in India,” she said.
She also highlighted concerns around cloud adoption. “The public sector is still not completely confident that cloud is secure enough,” she said, adding that without cloud, scaling AI becomes expensive and difficult.
Dwarka Srinath from Tata Power stressed the need for strong data systems and infrastructure. He noted that AI-driven systems, especially in energy, require advanced forecasting and resource optimisation. “We need to build in measurable carbon and water usage metrics,” he said, adding that “water is going to be a bigger problem with cooling.”
Sreyssha George of Boston Consulting Group said the biggest challenge is execution, not technology. “I think we need to boldly move forward. We’ve seen how this technology gives RoI,” she said, adding that companies must focus on 10-15 priority use cases. She also flagged a talent gap, saying faster upskilling is essential.
Mankiran Chowhan from Salesforce emphasised trust and security. She said AI systems must have built-in safeguards, especially in sectors like banking and insurance. She also highlighted interoperability challenges, noting that disconnected systems reduce effectiveness.
Bhattacharya further stressed the importance of local language models. “The agents we are talking about – the voice-to-text or voice-to-voice – work on databases, and these databases have to be there in that particular language for the agents to mature in using that language in the proper context,” she said.
Chowhan summed up the challenge, stating, “What’s happening today is more imagination deficit, not a technology deficit.”
Also read: Viksit Workforce for a Viksit Bharat
Do Follow: The Mainstream LinkedIn | The Mainstream Facebook | The Mainstream Youtube | The Mainstream Twitter
About us:
The Mainstream is a premier platform delivering the latest updates and informed perspectives across the technology business and cyber landscape. Built on research-driven, thought leadership and original intellectual property, The Mainstream also curates summits & conferences that convene decision makers to explore how technology reshapes industries and leadership. With a growing presence in India and globally across the Middle East, Africa, ASEAN, the USA, the UK and Australia, The Mainstream carries a vision to bring the latest happenings and insights to 8.2 billion people and to place technology at the centre of conversation for leaders navigating the future.
