Editorial illustration for Ambani Warns: Indian Firms Slow to Adopt AI Despite Retraining Efforts
Ambani Warns: Indian Firms Lag in Critical AI Transformation
Ambani says AI adoption lags as gov hubs expand and IT firms retrain staff
India can talk about artificial intelligence. It builds models, teaches courses, and prints policy papers about digital empowerment. Mukesh Ambani looks at this and sees a country that understands the menu but can't cook the meal.
"The true disparity is that while many Indians know AI, very few are able to integrate a RAG agent into an outdated workflow without causing system failures," he said. The gap between knowing and doing is wide, even as the government opens more AI hubs and IT giants retrain thousands.
On paper, the effort is everywhere. Public hubs expand access. Tech firms run generative AI bootcamps.
Young engineers teach themselves the latest frameworks. The push is toward tools and experience, not just theory. As Tiwari noted, digital learning platforms and AI-based counselling exist.
But the real bottleneck is human. You can teach the youth. Teaching the teachers is harder.
Ambani believes that many are yet to apply AI in real-world business environments. However, progress is being made: government AI hubs are expanding access, large Indian IT companies are retraining thousands in Generative AI, and younger engineers are self-learning rapidly. "The true disparity is that while many Indians know AI, very few are able to integrate a RAG agent into an outdated workflow without causing system failures," he added.
On the ground, this means going beyond textbook instruction and embedding digital instructional tools and experiential formats. Tiwari pointed at the growing wave of technology-driven education, i.e., "We have digital learning platforms… online learning, AI-based credit counselling is there." Yet, the challenge is not solely in training youth; it lies in training the trainers as well. Industry Reality In the trenches of semiconductor manufacturing and global capability centres (GCCs), the disruption is far more immediate.
Jitendra Chaddah, country head at GlobalFoundries, warned during the BSS 2025 that AI is fundamentally altering the hierarchy of skills. One of the key transitions that companies need to be prepared for is that more and more decisions are going to be made by machines, he said. The once-coveted skills of the tech workforce, especially coding, are no longer scarce.
"Coding was a great skill… today a lot of that coding is getting done by the machines." Also, the national picture is sobering. The India Skills Report 2025 showed an overall employability of 54%, and a dire 40%+ among ITI and polytechnic graduates. "The employability gap in terms of AI and engineering skills is very, very low," Nipun Sharma, CEO of the recruitment platform TeamLease, told AIM.
The disruption is already here, rewriting job descriptions in semiconductor plants and global capability centres. Jitendra Chaddah warns that machines are taking over decisions. Coding, the old gold standard, is increasingly done by code.
The numbers confirm a brutal reality. The India Skills Report 2025 puts overall employability at just 54%. For ITI and polytechnic graduates, it's below 40%.
Nipun Sharma calls the AI and engineering skills gap very, very low. India produces talent. Whether that talent can actually do the work is a different problem.
The system is good at awareness. Application is a much slower, harder grind.
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Common Questions Answered
What specific challenge is Mukesh Ambani highlighting about AI adoption in Indian businesses?
Ambani is pointing out that while Indian companies have infrastructure and training programs for AI, they are struggling to practically integrate AI technologies into real-world business environments. Despite government AI hubs and corporate retraining efforts, many firms are not effectively applying AI to transform their existing workflows and systems.
How are Indian IT companies attempting to address the AI skills gap?
Major Indian IT firms are aggressively retraining their workforce in generative AI technologies, focusing on developing practical skills among their employees. Additionally, younger engineers are proactively self-learning AI skills, which suggests a growing recognition of the technology's importance in the current business landscape.
What does Ambani suggest is the key barrier to AI integration in Indian businesses?
According to Ambani, the core issue is not a lack of AI knowledge, but the ability to successfully integrate advanced AI technologies like RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) agents into existing workflows without causing system disruptions. This highlights the complexity of practical AI implementation beyond theoretical understanding.
Further Reading
- Ambani says AI adoption lags as Reliance invests billions in digital push — The Economic Times
- India’s AI mission: Govt hubs multiply but enterprises still stuck in pilot phase — Mint
- Indian IT firms retrain thousands of staff for generative AI as clients hold back on large deployments — Reuters
- India’s AI shift from pilots to performance: 47% of enterprises have multiple AI use cases live in production — EY Newsroom
- Samaj, Sarkar, Bazaar: Building inclusive AI for India’s future — Stimson Center
