Davos 2026: NTT Data CEO says "India is the innovation and delivery hub globally"

As the World Economic Forum 2026 unfolds in Davos, the conversation surrounding artificial intelligence has shifted from speculative hype to the brass tacks of global infrastructure and economic delivery. At the heart of this transition is NTT Data, the $100 billion conglomerate whose CEO, Abhijit Dubey, in conversation with Business Today, remains focused on India’s pivotal role in the emerging "agentic transformation".

For Dubey, India is no longer merely the "back office" of the world but a burgeoning innovation hub. Reflecting on the evolution of the IT sector, he noted: "It’s been about cost arbitrage at the end of the day. And I think now we’re going to move into a world of skills arbitrage, where, as it service providers, we have better skills on AI than, of course, our clients... and India has the opportunity to really be that hub."

This shift is backed by significant physical investment. NTT Data, which has its second-largest employee base in India, has already invested $3 billion in data centres, with plans for a further $1.5 billion. "We still see enormous growth in the digital infrastructure space in India," Dubey explained, highlighting the demand for AI infrastructure as the Indian private sector professionalises at a rapid pace.

Road to AI dominance

However, the road to AI dominance is not without its hurdles. Dubey said there can be a short-term market correction in 2026, citing a divergence between infrastructure supply and enterprise demand. "At some point you see that the build out is happening much faster than the diffusion of the enterprise in terms of demand," he remarked, though he expects this to be "short lived" as the technology reaches "escape velocity".

Regarding the complex debate over tech sovereignty, Dubey suggested that India’s real value lies in application rather than just inventing foundational models. "The real value is of AI, is the use cases that you unleash on top," he argued. "If we can unleash mass intelligence into India and drive a level of productivity that we’ve never seen before... to me, that is the most important thing."

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