Artificial intelligence (AI) could add $28 billion to $84 billion annually to India’s gross domestic product (GDP) under realistic adoption scenarios, according to a Cognizant study. The findings also show that 97% of employees surveyed in India reported productivity improvements after using AI, with an average increase of 15%.
The study, based on responses from 700 enterprise employees and 75 senior executives across 10 industries, found that the economic gains would depend on how widely businesses adopt AI and whether improvements in employee productivity translate into measurable economic output.
The research also estimates a theoretical upper limit of $830 billion in additional annual GDP if AI is adopted across the entire workforce and all productivity gains contribute to economic output. However, Cognizant said this figure is not a forecast.
Despite the reported productivity gains, access to AI tools remains limited. While 74% of employees surveyed in India had completed AI training, compared with 56% globally, business leaders estimated that only 36% of employees had access to AI tools.
Productivity improvements also varied across industries. Healthcare recorded the highest share of employees reporting productivity gains of 38%. This was followed by communications at 31%, technology and banking at 28% each, and retail and consumer packaged goods at 18%.
In manufacturing, 82% of employees reported some level of productivity improvement, while 27% expected gains of more than 20%.
The study also found that productivity gains have yet to translate into financial returns for most businesses. While 35% of leaders reported improvements in workforce productivity, 84% had not seen AI reduce costs and 91% reported no impact on revenue. Further, 37% said they had paused or stopped AI initiatives because of unclear returns on investment.
“Realizing this potential will require adoption of AI tools across enterprises, continued investment in skilling, and an enabling environment for responsible AI at scale,” said Rajesh Varrier, President – Global Operations and Chairman and Managing Director, Cognizant India.
The company said wider access to AI tools, continued employee training and better measurement of business outcomes would be needed to convert productivity improvements into economic gains.