25/08/2026
๐๐ ๐๐ฆ ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ง ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง๐ข๐ฅโ๐๐ง ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ ๐๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ฃ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ก๐ ๐ฆ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ง๐๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ก๐ข๐ ๐ฌ
๐๐ฒ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฅ๐ฒ-๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ
The global economy is expected to grow by around 3% in 2026, while India is likely to remain among the fastest-growing major economies, with growth of approximately 6.4%.
These numbers are encouragingโbut GDP growth alone does not tell us where tomorrowโs economic power will come from.
The next big divide may not be between developed and developing countries. It may be between countries that simply use foreign AI tools and those that build and own AI infrastructure, intellectual property, datasets, models and scalable AI businesses.
๐๐ข๐ช ๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ก๐ง๐ฅ๐๐๐จ๐ง๐ ๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ฌ?
There is no universally accepted figure showing AIโs present share of global GDP. AI investment, AI-company revenue, business adoption and AI-generated productivity are different measurements. Combining them into one attractive โAI contribution pieโ would be misleading.
But the direction is clear:
โข AI adoption among organisations has reached 88% globally.
โข Corporate AI investment reached approximately $581.7 billion in 2025.
โข NITI Aayog estimates that AI could generate $17โ26 trillion in global economic value during the next decade.
โข In India, around 87% of enterprises reportedly use AI, but only 26% have achieved mature deployment at scale.
This reveals Indiaโs real challenge: we are not short of AI experiments. We are short of AI ex*****on at economic scale.
๐ช๐๐ฌ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ฆ
Retail is where production, employment, logistics, marketing, finance and household consumption finally meet.
Indiaโs retail sector contributes more than 10% to GDP and nearly 8% to employment. Its estimated market size reached approximately $1.09 trillion in 2025.
This makes retail one of the most powerful laboratories for AI.
AI can improve demand forecasting, pricing, inventory replenishment, fraud control, personalised promotions, customer service and hyperlocal product selection.
However, retail sales should not be treated as retailโs GDP contribution. GDP counts the value added by retailersโnot the full value of everything sold. This distinction is essential when discussing economic scale.
๐๐ข๐ก๐ฆ๐จ๐ ๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ก๐
Industrial customers may increasingly pay for uptime, productivity and assured output instead of merely purchasing machines. Predictive maintenance will reduce breakdowns, spare-parts inventories and operating costs.
Food consumption will become more personalised, health-conscious, traceable and convenience-driven. AI will influence what consumers discover, which pack size they purchase, when retailers reorder and even which new products companies develop.
Consumer buying behaviour may shift from โsearch, compare and purchaseโ to โask my AI assistant to select and purchase.โ
That is a fundamental change. Influence could gradually move away from brands, advertisements and retailers towards the algorithms making recommendations.
Marketing will move from mass communication to millions of personalised, real-time decisions.
Salespeople who only repeat product features will become replaceable. Sales professionals who understand customer economics, negotiation, relationships and complex problem-solving will become more valuable.
๐๐ก๐๐๐โ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐ก๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐๐
โข Strategy: Build sector-specific AI missionsโnot fashionable chatbot projects.
โข Structure: Connect government, industry, universities, startups and MSMEs.
โข Systems: Develop trusted datasets, affordable computing infrastructure and measurable AI governance.
โข Skills: Combine AI knowledge with domain, commercial and analytical capabilities.
โข Staff: Reskill employees before AI redesigns their roles.
โข Style: Make AI transformation the responsibility of leadershipโnot merely the IT department.
โข Shared Values: Protect privacy, inclusion, Indian languages and human accountability.
India has clear strengths: talent, entrepreneurship, digital public infrastructure and enormous market scale.
But we must honestly recognise our weaknessesโdependence on imported computing technology, inconsistent data quality, limited original research and a persistent gap between announcement and ex*****on.
Our opportunities lie in agriculture, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, logistics, education and financial inclusion. Our threats include job polarisation, deepfakes, algorithmic bias and excessive dependence on foreign AI platforms.
๐ ๐ฌ ๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฆ๐๐๐ ๐ง๐ข ๐๐๐ก ๐ญ
Learning a few prompts is not a long-term career strategy. AI tools will change faster than academic courses or online certifications.
Build a stronger combination:
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ป๐ผ๐๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฒ + ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด + ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ถ๐น๐ถ๐๐ + ๐๐๐บ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐๐ฑ๐ด๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐
The future will not belong to AI alone.
It will belong to people, businesses and nations that can convert AI into higher productivity, better employment, responsible consumption and broadly shared economic value.
