By Narinder Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO, TO THE NEW 

“As India approaches the Union Budget 2026, it is entering a more mature phase of AI adoption. Over the past two years, enterprises have moved beyond isolated pilots to deploying AI in production, improving efficiency, customer experience, and decision-making across sectors. India’s digital public infrastructure provides a strong base, and the next phase must focus on responsibly scaling these capabilities across public systems and private enterprises.

Generative AI is emerging as a key productivity layer across software development, operations, and customer engagement. Its impact will depend on how well it is integrated into core business workflows. Continued investment in AI-ready infrastructure, data platforms, and advanced computing will be critical to support adoption across government platforms and industries such as BFSI, healthcare, telecom, and manufacturing.

Agent-based AI systems mark a shift from task automation to intelligent systems that can reason and optimize processes with minimal human intervention. As adoption grows, clear policy frameworks, responsible AI guidelines, and a strong push on AI-led skilling, research, and public-private collaboration will be essential for building trust, enabling scale, and driving long-term economic impact.”

Read the published quote here.