AI can boost India's GDP by $2.6 trillion by 2047 through public education overhaul: Report
A report by Wadhwani AI in collaboration with the Bridgespan Group and with support from Google.org has outlined a system-level roadmap to integrate responsible AI into India’s education ecosystem. The report, titled, “Harnessing AI in Education for Future Readiness: Bold Bets for Every Learner”, it discusses how AI can enable the next phase of progress by strengthening learning outcomes, enhancing system efficiency, and supporting future readiness.
The report says that India has over 250 million students across 1.5 million schools, making it one of the largest education systems globally, with nearly 60% of learners enrolled in government and government-aided institutions.
Over the past decade, strong policy direction through NEP 2020, combined with the rapid expansion of digital public infrastructure such as DIKSHA and NDEAR, has created a robust foundation to embed AI within public systems. Together, these developments are enabling a shift toward more responsive, outcome-driven education systems at scale.
Three pathways for AI-led education
It outlines three interconnected pathways: expanding equal opportunity for learners, accelerating learning outcomes through adaptive and data-driven approaches and enabling work readiness by linking education more closely with employment pathways.
“Technology on its own will not change how education systems function. What will matter is how it is combined with strong systems, teachers, data, and safeguards to support learning in a sustained way. As we see more solutions move into real-world environments, the focus needs to remain on what works for learners and educators at scale, and how these approaches can continue to evolve within public systems,” said Shekar Sivasubramanian, Head, Wadhwani AI.
The report underscores that AI-enabled education can play a role in India’s long-term economic growth, with the potential to contribute an estimated $2.6 trillion to GDP by 2047, increasing annual GDP growth by up to one percentage point.
“At Google.org, we have always supported change makers who work to scale digital resources for learners. We believe deeply that continuous access to quality education is the foundation of the future, and that AI can play an instrumental role in building it. We are excited to see AI for Education Innovation strengthen infrastructure and support teachers and learners across India, ultimately ensuring that we help unlock potential to learn new skills at scale,” added Marija Ralic, Head of APAC Grantmaking, Google.org.
Anant Bhagwati, Partner, The Bridgespan Group, said, “As the education system continues to evolve, one of the key priorities will be identifying where focused, long-term investment can help translate early progress into sustained outcomes at scale. This includes domestic philanthropy and CSR supporting bold bets that are designed for real system conditions, building strong evidence, and enabling approaches that can be adopted within public systems over time.”
Results are already showing
The report said that early deployments across states are already demonstrating the potential of AI in improving assessment, enabling personalised learning, and supporting teachers with actionable insights. Solutions such as AI-enabled Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessments have supported over 27 million assessments across 8.5 million students, while adaptive learning platforms have demonstrated 2–3x improvements in learning outcomes in controlled evaluations.
The report says that India has over 250 million students across 1.5 million schools, making it one of the largest education systems globally, with nearly 60% of learners enrolled in government and government-aided institutions.
Over the past decade, strong policy direction through NEP 2020, combined with the rapid expansion of digital public infrastructure such as DIKSHA and NDEAR, has created a robust foundation to embed AI within public systems. Together, these developments are enabling a shift toward more responsive, outcome-driven education systems at scale.
Three pathways for AI-led education
It outlines three interconnected pathways: expanding equal opportunity for learners, accelerating learning outcomes through adaptive and data-driven approaches and enabling work readiness by linking education more closely with employment pathways.
“Technology on its own will not change how education systems function. What will matter is how it is combined with strong systems, teachers, data, and safeguards to support learning in a sustained way. As we see more solutions move into real-world environments, the focus needs to remain on what works for learners and educators at scale, and how these approaches can continue to evolve within public systems,” said Shekar Sivasubramanian, Head, Wadhwani AI.
The report underscores that AI-enabled education can play a role in India’s long-term economic growth, with the potential to contribute an estimated $2.6 trillion to GDP by 2047, increasing annual GDP growth by up to one percentage point.
“At Google.org, we have always supported change makers who work to scale digital resources for learners. We believe deeply that continuous access to quality education is the foundation of the future, and that AI can play an instrumental role in building it. We are excited to see AI for Education Innovation strengthen infrastructure and support teachers and learners across India, ultimately ensuring that we help unlock potential to learn new skills at scale,” added Marija Ralic, Head of APAC Grantmaking, Google.org.
Anant Bhagwati, Partner, The Bridgespan Group, said, “As the education system continues to evolve, one of the key priorities will be identifying where focused, long-term investment can help translate early progress into sustained outcomes at scale. This includes domestic philanthropy and CSR supporting bold bets that are designed for real system conditions, building strong evidence, and enabling approaches that can be adopted within public systems over time.”
Results are already showing
The report said that early deployments across states are already demonstrating the potential of AI in improving assessment, enabling personalised learning, and supporting teachers with actionable insights. Solutions such as AI-enabled Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) assessments have supported over 27 million assessments across 8.5 million students, while adaptive learning platforms have demonstrated 2–3x improvements in learning outcomes in controlled evaluations.
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