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What is the story about?
Artificial intelligence could emerge as one of India’s most powerful economic growth drivers over the next decade, adding nearly $550 billion in value to five core sectors by 2035, according to PwC India’s flagship report AI Edge for Viksit Bharat, unveiled at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
At a time when investors, policymakers and corporates are increasingly focused on productivity-led growth, fiscal efficiency and quality of public spending, the report positions AI not as a frontier technology experiment but as a scalable economic lever. PwC argues that AI can materially improve returns on public investment, reduce systemic leakages and lift competitiveness across agriculture, education, energy, healthcare and manufacturing—sectors that sit at the heart of India’s growth and employment engine.
Launched against the backdrop of India’s push toward becoming a developed economy by 2047, the analysis suggests the next phase of growth will be shaped less by capital intensity and more by how effectively AI is embedded into national systems—from farm advisories and power grids to hospitals, classrooms and factories.
Why PwC sees a $550 billion AI opportunity
PwC’s economic modelling indicates that even modest scaling of existing AI use cases across the five priority sectors could deliver significant productivity gains and cost efficiencies over the next decade. The $550 billion estimate represents nominal value creation by 2035, driven not by new technology breakthroughs alone but by wider deployment of solutions already being tested on the ground.
In agriculture, AI-led crop advisories, yield forecasting and pest management tools can improve farm productivity while reducing agri-waste and input costs. In education, AI can strengthen school governance, teacher deployment and student learning outcomes through early identification of gaps. Energy applications include smart metering, grid optimisation and power theft detection, while healthcare use cases range from early disease detection to diagnostics and public health surveillance. Manufacturing stands to benefit from predictive maintenance, quality control and supply-chain optimisation.
PwC notes that pilots across states and enterprises have already demonstrated tangible gains. The challenge, the report emphasises, lies not in innovation but in scaling AI across systems rather than silos.
The 3A2I framework: Moving from pilots to systems
At the centre of the report is PwC’s proprietary 3A2I framework, a national, system-level blueprint for scaling AI responsibly. Unlike sector-specific technology roadmaps, the framework treats AI as a connected “central nervous system” for development.
The first pillar, Access, focuses on building availability of quality data, digital infrastructure and AI-ready talent. Without this foundation, PwC warns, AI adoption risks remaining uneven and exclusionary.
The second pillar, Acceptance, addresses trust—through transparency, explainability, ethical safeguards and robust data governance. Trust, the report argues, is essential for public adoption, regulatory confidence and long-term sustainability.
The third pillar, Assimilation, centres on embedding AI into real workflows across government departments, enterprises and service delivery systems, rather than deploying it as a standalone digital layer.
Once these three pillars are in place, the framework enables large-scale Implementation and long-term Institutionalisation through policy alignment, governance structures and continuous learning mechanisms.
Redefining AI’s role in India’s growth story
A key argument of the report is that India has a unique opportunity to redefine how AI contributes to economic growth—by aligning technology deployment with equity, inclusion and public outcomes, rather than efficiency alone.
“AI is more than a technological leap; it is a nation-building force,” said Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India. According to him, India’s AI strategy must go beyond GDP metrics and focus on people-first outcomes by investing in infrastructure, skills and governance in tandem.
PwC also introduced the AI Edge outcomes framework, which sets out five national-scale outcomes expected from AI deployed at scale: operational excellence, sustainability, good governance, resilience and financial discipline. This reframes the AI conversation from speed and automation to transparency, accountability and long-term value creation across public and private ecosystems.
Maharashtra’s AI-led governance push
The report was unveiled by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who highlighted how the state is already embedding AI into governance to democratise its impact.
Maharashtra has developed an AI-based application for farmers, available in Marathi, to help them better understand crop cycles and pesticide usage. The state is also leveraging AI to improve ease of doing business, with platforms such as MAITRI for industrial investments becoming more reliable through data-driven decision-making.
Fadnavis also pointed to Maharashtra’s decriminalisation drive, under which 17 laws were scrapped to reduce regulatory friction. Combined with AI-led digitisation and fewer permission regimes, he said the state is confident of further reducing red tape and improving administrative efficiency.
Industry perspective: Productivity with responsibility
While the report is optimistic about AI’s economic potential, it also underscores the need for higher standards and accountability. Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv, said that while AI promises significant productivity gains, it must be held to stricter benchmarks than human decision-making, especially in public systems.
By reducing bureaucracy through AI, Bajaj said, public servants can be freed up to focus on more impactful work, aligning with the inclusive growth vision outlined in the report.
Entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath highlighted the role of policy stability in enabling long-term technology investment, noting that India’s improving regulatory environment is critical for sustained AI adoption.
A defining moment for India’s AI journey
PwC’s report concludes that India stands at a decisive moment. With strong digital public infrastructure, expanding data ecosystems and a reform-oriented policy environment, the country has the building blocks to scale AI responsibly.
However, the report cautions that success will depend on deep collaboration between government, industry, academia and civil society. Without coordinated ownership and governance, AI adoption risks remaining fragmented.
If executed well, PwC argues, India’s AI journey could do more than accelerate economic growth—it could offer a global template for how emerging economies deploy artificial intelligence to drive sustainable, inclusive and system-wide transformation.
At a time when investors, policymakers and corporates are increasingly focused on productivity-led growth, fiscal efficiency and quality of public spending, the report positions AI not as a frontier technology experiment but as a scalable economic lever. PwC argues that AI can materially improve returns on public investment, reduce systemic leakages and lift competitiveness across agriculture, education, energy, healthcare and manufacturing—sectors that sit at the heart of India’s growth and employment engine.
Launched against the backdrop of India’s push toward becoming a developed economy by 2047, the analysis suggests the next phase of growth will be shaped less by capital intensity and more by how effectively AI is embedded into national systems—from farm advisories and power grids to hospitals, classrooms and factories.
Why PwC sees a $550 billion AI opportunity
PwC’s economic modelling indicates that even modest scaling of existing AI use cases across the five priority sectors could deliver significant productivity gains and cost efficiencies over the next decade. The $550 billion estimate represents nominal value creation by 2035, driven not by new technology breakthroughs alone but by wider deployment of solutions already being tested on the ground.
In agriculture, AI-led crop advisories, yield forecasting and pest management tools can improve farm productivity while reducing agri-waste and input costs. In education, AI can strengthen school governance, teacher deployment and student learning outcomes through early identification of gaps. Energy applications include smart metering, grid optimisation and power theft detection, while healthcare use cases range from early disease detection to diagnostics and public health surveillance. Manufacturing stands to benefit from predictive maintenance, quality control and supply-chain optimisation.
PwC notes that pilots across states and enterprises have already demonstrated tangible gains. The challenge, the report emphasises, lies not in innovation but in scaling AI across systems rather than silos.
The 3A2I framework: Moving from pilots to systems
At the centre of the report is PwC’s proprietary 3A2I framework, a national, system-level blueprint for scaling AI responsibly. Unlike sector-specific technology roadmaps, the framework treats AI as a connected “central nervous system” for development.
The first pillar, Access, focuses on building availability of quality data, digital infrastructure and AI-ready talent. Without this foundation, PwC warns, AI adoption risks remaining uneven and exclusionary.
The second pillar, Acceptance, addresses trust—through transparency, explainability, ethical safeguards and robust data governance. Trust, the report argues, is essential for public adoption, regulatory confidence and long-term sustainability.
The third pillar, Assimilation, centres on embedding AI into real workflows across government departments, enterprises and service delivery systems, rather than deploying it as a standalone digital layer.
Once these three pillars are in place, the framework enables large-scale Implementation and long-term Institutionalisation through policy alignment, governance structures and continuous learning mechanisms.
Redefining AI’s role in India’s growth story
A key argument of the report is that India has a unique opportunity to redefine how AI contributes to economic growth—by aligning technology deployment with equity, inclusion and public outcomes, rather than efficiency alone.
“AI is more than a technological leap; it is a nation-building force,” said Sanjeev Krishan, Chairperson, PwC in India. According to him, India’s AI strategy must go beyond GDP metrics and focus on people-first outcomes by investing in infrastructure, skills and governance in tandem.
PwC also introduced the AI Edge outcomes framework, which sets out five national-scale outcomes expected from AI deployed at scale: operational excellence, sustainability, good governance, resilience and financial discipline. This reframes the AI conversation from speed and automation to transparency, accountability and long-term value creation across public and private ecosystems.
Maharashtra’s AI-led governance push
The report was unveiled by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who highlighted how the state is already embedding AI into governance to democratise its impact.
Maharashtra has developed an AI-based application for farmers, available in Marathi, to help them better understand crop cycles and pesticide usage. The state is also leveraging AI to improve ease of doing business, with platforms such as MAITRI for industrial investments becoming more reliable through data-driven decision-making.
Fadnavis also pointed to Maharashtra’s decriminalisation drive, under which 17 laws were scrapped to reduce regulatory friction. Combined with AI-led digitisation and fewer permission regimes, he said the state is confident of further reducing red tape and improving administrative efficiency.
Industry perspective: Productivity with responsibility
While the report is optimistic about AI’s economic potential, it also underscores the need for higher standards and accountability. Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv, said that while AI promises significant productivity gains, it must be held to stricter benchmarks than human decision-making, especially in public systems.
By reducing bureaucracy through AI, Bajaj said, public servants can be freed up to focus on more impactful work, aligning with the inclusive growth vision outlined in the report.
Entrepreneur and investor Nikhil Kamath highlighted the role of policy stability in enabling long-term technology investment, noting that India’s improving regulatory environment is critical for sustained AI adoption.
A defining moment for India’s AI journey
PwC’s report concludes that India stands at a decisive moment. With strong digital public infrastructure, expanding data ecosystems and a reform-oriented policy environment, the country has the building blocks to scale AI responsibly.
However, the report cautions that success will depend on deep collaboration between government, industry, academia and civil society. Without coordinated ownership and governance, AI adoption risks remaining fragmented.
If executed well, PwC argues, India’s AI journey could do more than accelerate economic growth—it could offer a global template for how emerging economies deploy artificial intelligence to drive sustainable, inclusive and system-wide transformation.
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