Survey finds almost every manufacturer in India investing in AI, ML: Rockwell Automation

New Delhi: Almost every manufacturer in India, across various segments covered in a survey, has either invested in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology or is planning to do so, a senior officer from Rockwell Automation said on Friday.

While sharing details of the survey, Rockwell Automation India Managing Director Dilip Sawhney told PTI that in a survey on smart manufacturing conducted two years ago, about two-thirds of organisations said they would either have already invested in AI or planned to do so in the next 12 months or thereafter. This figure crossed the 90 per cent mark in last year’s survey.

"This year, it is as high as you can imagine, 99 per cent of the firms. So virtually everyone really is either doing something about it or has plans to do something about it. About a decade plus ago in a market like India, people were still very curious about what industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing. Now they are completely consumed with what these technologies can do for their business," he said.

The global study conducted by Rockwell Automation for its 10th annual "State of Smart Manufacturing Report", released in March 2025, registered participation from more than 1,500 manufacturers across 17 leading manufacturing countries, including India.

India represented 5 per cent of the total sample size. Out of the total participants from India, 23 per cent of respondents were manufacturers, 36 per cent original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), 28 per cent system integrators (SIs), and 13 per cent were from an engineering procurement company (EPC).

According to the report, long-term business impact is the main driver for 81 per cent of Indian respondents to invest in technology.

Cybersecurity ranked as the second biggest external risk among manufacturers in India, according to the report. The share of manufacturers planning to use AI for cybersecurity is expected to rise to 49 per cent in 2025, up from 40 per cent in 2024.

"Organisations in India said that they have either already invested or plan to invest in cybersecurity solutions and platforms. That number is close to about 97 per cent," he said.

The survey also found that manufacturers in India see greater benefit in sustainability, with 94 per cent reporting some formal sustainability programme in place.

"What really also came out was India, surprisingly, and that also indicates the maturity of the players in the Indian manufacturing sector about sustainability," Sawhney said.

The report said that 48 per cent of manufacturers plan to repurpose or hire additional workers due to smart manufacturing investments. Additionally, 41 per cent are using AI and automation to help close the skills gap and address labour shortages.