India’s earlier technology waves—internet and smartphones—mainly gave people easier access to information, shopping, banking, entertainment and services. They connected crores of Indians and created huge digital businesses, but the core “thinking” still had to be done by people. AI changes this by making intelligence itself widely available: it can help a student learn, a doctor diagnose, a farmer plan, and a small business serve customers better.
This is why the AI opportunity may be much bigger than earlier rounds of technology. Experts at TechSparks 2026 said India’s AI opportunity could go beyond $100 billion and potentially add about $1 trillion to GDP by 2035. Unlike the internet, which connected people, AI can improve productivity across almost every sector—education, healthcare, finance, agriculture, retail and public services.
For startups, the real chance is to solve India-specific problems deeply: spam calls, poor access to quality teachers, delayed healthcare, language barriers, and inefficient services. A product built for these everyday needs can first win Indian users and then scale globally. But founders must build a lasting advantage, because AI tools are becoming cheaper and easier to copy; simply having a market is no longer enough.
To scale AI in a big way, India must urgently invest in affordable computing power, reliable data, AI skills, and local-language models. It also needs patient capital, strong data privacy and safety rules, and support for startups serving millions of users at low cost. If India combines its huge user base, tech talent and real-world problems, AI can become not just a technology wave—but a national growth engine.
AI WILL NOT JUST CONNECT INDIA—IT CAN MAKE EVERY INDIAN MORE CAPABLE.
Sanjay Sahay
Have a nice evening.