India accelerates AI adoption but faces skills and infrastructure gaps: Report

India is emerging as one of the leading countries in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption across Asia-Pacific, according to new research commissioned by Dell Technologies and NVIDIA and conducted by IDC. The study, titled Creating Your AI Implementation Blueprint, highlights how governments and industries in the region are approaching AI, generative AI (GenAI), and machine learning (ML).

The report shows that about 4% of Indian organizations are moving faster than their peers in AI and ML adoption, particularly in the public sector. However, 32% remain in the early stages of implementation, showing uneven progress.

Across Asia-Pacific, spending on GenAI is gaining momentum. This year, 84% of organizations plan to allocate between $1 million and $2 million toward GenAI projects. On average, 38% of AI budgets in the region go to GenAI, while 61% is spent on predictive and interpretative AI. The AI-centric server market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach $23.9 billion by 2025.

Industries are adopting AI at different speeds. In banking and financial services, 84% of organizations are already using AI and 67% are deploying GenAI, with fraud detection and compliance as leading applications. In manufacturing, 78% are using AI and 54% are adopting GenAI for predictive maintenance, quality control, and supply chain optimization. The energy sector shows 83% AI adoption and 73% GenAI adoption, using it for grid optimization and predictive maintenance.

Challenges remain across the region. More than 72% of enterprises stress the need for stronger data and AI skills in hiring. Security, compliance, and rising IT costs are also key concerns. Many organizations rely on external vendors, with 60% using outside developers for AI applications compared to 30% building in-house.

The report concludes that Asia-Pacific businesses are taking a phased approach to AI adoption, focusing on high-impact use cases while depending on technology partners for expertise, infrastructure, and workforce training.