Indian enterprises lead in responsible AI adoption with strong privacy focus

A new Zoho-commissioned report reveals Indian organisations are rapidly scaling AI while simultaneously strengthening privacy, ethics and governance, with most companies implementing dedicated privacy teams, ethics committees and risk-mitigation measures to balance innovation with responsible deployment.

Indian enterprises are adopting artificial intelligence at remarkable speed, and strengthening privacy controls just as rapidly, according to The AI Privacy Equation: India Market Report conducted by Arion Research and commissioned by Zoho. The study finds that 93% of organisations in India have deployed AI tools, and 71% tightened their privacy frameworks following adoption. Governance maturity is also rising, with 61% now operating AI ethics committees to oversee responsible implementation.

Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director – AI Research, Zoho Corp, said companies are embedding responsible practices from the ground up. “Teams are integrating guardrails, ethics reviews, and data minimisation directly into engineering workflows,” he noted, adding that this approach strengthens India’s foundation for scaled, privacy-first AI deployments.

High awareness of AI risks and expanding privacy budgets

The report highlights a strong understanding of AI-related privacy risks among Indian firms. About 90% of organisations demonstrate high awareness of potential data concerns, while 92% have dedicated privacy officers or teams — a number exceeding global benchmarks. Businesses are also taking proactive steps to identify sensitive use cases involving cloud-stored customer data, biometrics, and AI systems trained on user interactions.

Privacy investments are rising, with 65% of organisations allocating over 20% of their IT budgets to data protection measures. Many are adopting frequent privacy audits, structured governance frameworks, and data minimisation to mitigate risk. Michael Fauscette, CEO and Chief Analyst at Arion Research, said the findings challenge the notion that privacy hinders AI progress, noting that strong governance “helps enterprises deploy AI faster by reducing risk and building stakeholder trust.”

India emerges as a global frontrunner in responsible AI

India’s AI maturity continues to advance, with 46% of organisations reporting widespread or advanced integration across functions such as product development, customer service, software engineering and decision support. However, challenges remain. Organisations cite poor data quality, regulatory ambiguity, talent shortages and security concerns as ongoing barriers.

Despite these hurdles, the report positions India as a leading market where rapid AI adoption is balanced with disciplined governance. As enterprises expand upskilling efforts and seek clearer AI regulations, India is increasingly viewed as a model for responsible, ethics-aligned AI development — demonstrating that privacy can accelerate innovation rather than restrict it.