97% of Indian manufacturers say digital transformation is essential

Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), an industrial automation and digital transformation company, today announced India findings from its 11th annual State of Smart Manufacturing Report. The global study, conducted in 2026, surveyed more than 1,500 manufacturers across 17 manufacturing countries, including India.

The findings show that Indian manufacturers are increasingly adopting digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), and automation to address uncertainty, improve competitiveness, and strengthen operational resilience.
In India, 97% of respondents said digital transformation is essential to staying competitive, indicating broad alignment on the need to modernize industrial operations. Indian manufacturers are also investing at a higher rate than global peers, with nearly 1.6 times more high-budget spenders allocating 51–99% of their operating budget to industrial technology.


Dilip Sawhney, Managing Director, Rockwell Automation India, said in a statement, “The 2026 findings confirm that India is not only keeping pace with global smart manufacturing - it is often leading it. Indian manufacturers are rapidly deploying AI, automation, and digital technologies to address quality, supply chain resilience, workforce shortages, and data utilization at scale. This firmly positions India as a future-ready manufacturing powerhouse, with strong momentum to build globally competitive, technology-driven industrial capabilities.”

Key India findings include:
Digital transformation is now a clear priority in India: 97% of Indian manufacturers say it is essential to stay competitive, showing that the focus has shifted from adopting digital tools to scaling them effectively.

India is investing heavily in industrial technology: Compared with global peers, India has nearly 1.6x more high-budget spenders allocating 51-99% of operating budgets to industrial technology.

AI adoption is already deep and continues to rise: 88% of Indian manufacturers are already using AI/ML in operations, and 41 % of operations are currently AI-augmented. That is expected to grow to 47% by 2027 and 61% by 2030.

Capturing and using data remains the biggest internal challenge: 60% of respondents cite capturing, interpreting and using data to improve business as their top internal obstacle, versus 37% globally.

Workforce transformation is moving alongside technology transformation: 52% are using technology to create more engaging jobs, 48% are using AI/ML learning technologies to address labor gaps, and 81% say applying AI is a very important hiring skill.