Nearly 25 pc Indian firms feel workforce ready for AI as adoption accelerates

New Delhi, July 7 (IANS) Around 25 per cent of Indian companies said their workforce is adequately prepared to leverage artificial intelligence — a 12‑point decline from 2025 — even as AI deployment accelerates across businesses, a report said on Tuesday.

Nearly 56 per cent of Indian organisations reported AI is deployed broadly or embedded in core business processes, compared to 36 per cent respondents saying AI was fully integrated across their organisations in 2025, the report from Kyndryl said.

Hence, the gap between AI ambitions and workforce readiness is widening, with 81 per cent of Indian leaders concerned that AI advancement will outpace workforce capabilities, governance frameworks and operating models.

Nearly 84 per cent of Indian organisations expect autonomous AI agents to make material decisions within the next 12 months, while only 28 per cent fully trust autonomous AI systems operating without human oversight.

Meanwhile, enterprises are taking significant steps to prepare for this shift. 69 per cent of organisations surveyed in India have redesigned roles within or across functions to support AI adoption, while 33 per cent have implemented formal budgets and proactive upskilling strategies. However, the pace of organisational transformation appears to be outstripping the development of governance, trust, and oversight frameworks.

The report highlighted that AI success is not driven solely by different strategies, use cases or technologies – it’s driven by whether organisations redesign work and manage those changes throughout their organisations.

The data also showed that trust in AI can be built through deliberate operating model and governance changes.

“India has consistently demonstrated leadership in technology adoption, and enterprises are moving quickly to integrate AI into their operations,” said Lingraju Sawkar, Asia Pacific President, Kyndryl India.

“While organisations continue to invest in AI technologies and expand use cases, scaling impact will require businesses to rethink how work gets done, redesign roles, build new capabilities and establish governance frameworks that foster trust and responsible adoption,” Sawkar added.

The firm conducted a global study of 1,100 senior business and technology leaders across eight countries, including India.

—IANS

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