Context

• India’s aspiration for Viksit Bharat by 2047 depends not only on economic growth but also on the equitable distribution of technological gains.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming agriculture, healthcare, finance, logistics and other sectors.
• Its impact, however, will depend on who designs these systems, whose data trains them and which languages they support.
• Without inclusive design, AI could reinforce existing inequalities; with gender-responsive governance, it can become a powerful tool of economic empowerment.

AI and the Gendered Nature of India’s Workforce

• Around 82% of working women in India are engaged in informal employment, including agriculture, domestic services, home-based production and micro-enterprises.
• Their limited access to finance, technology, skills and social protection makes them vulnerable to technological disruption but also creates significant opportunities for AI-led inclusion.
• The India AI Governance Guidelines identify fairness and equity as core principles.
• These must translate into practical outcomes by ensuring that AI systems account for gender, language, caste, disability, location and occupational status.
• AI should be designed, tested and governed to prevent stereotypes, discrimination and digital exclusion.

AI in Agriculture and Informal Work

• Agriculture offers major possibilities for women through precision agriculture, crop-health monitoring, input optimisation, weather information and market access.
• With 76.9% of rural women engaged in agriculture, women constitute a crucial constituency for agricultural AI.
• The 2024 deployment of Farmer. Chat across 12 States reported improved quality of life among 61% of women users, with engagement two to three times higher than among men.
• This suggests that AI can achieve strong adoption when designed around regional languages, literacy levels, mobility constraints and livelihood realities.
• AI must therefore move beyond serving large farmers and become an instrument of empowerment for women cultivators, smallholders and informal workers. 

Gender-Responsive AI Governance

• Gender Impact Assessments
  • AI systems influencing employment, credit, welfare and safety should undergo proportionate gender impact assessments.
  • These should examine variations by sex, geography, caste, disability and work status and ensure accessible grievance mechanisms in regional languages.
  • Algorithmic transparency and explainability are vital for building trust among marginalised communities.
• Gender-Responsive Budgeting
  • AI investments should be evaluated through Gender Responsive Budgeting.
  • Policymakers should identify which women will benefit, which barrier is being addressed, how outcomes will be measured and what resources will support corrective action.
  • This shifts attention from technological deployment to measurable social outcomes.

AI Literacy as Public Infrastructure

• Access to AI tools is insufficient without the ability to use them effectively.
• Women in informal work often face constraints involving time, literacy and livelihood demands.
• AI literacy should therefore be integrated into DAY-NRLM, DDU-GKY and Skill India, with Mission Shakti’s Sakhi network providing trusted community-level support.
• Success should be measured through outcomes: whether women can access entitlements, navigate digital platforms, improve productivity or move towards better-paid employment.
• AI literacy must consequently be treated as public infrastructure for economic participation. 

The Way Forward

• Digital Safety and Women’s Economic Participation
  • Deepfakes, online harassment and non-consensual imagery can discourage women from participating in digital economic spaces.
  • Digital safety is therefore an economic necessity, not merely a cybersecurity concern.
  • The IT (Amendment) Rules, 2021 provide grievance mechanisms for harmful content, while proposed MeitY measures on labelling AI-generated synthetic content can strengthen safeguards.
  • Effective implementation requires accessible, survivor-centred remedies, especially in regional languages.
  • Recommendations from the National Commission for Women’s review of cyber laws also warrant coordinated inter-ministerial action.
• Building AI Prosperity for All
  • India has developed significant AI capabilities through the IndiaAI Mission, BHASHINI and AI Governance Guidelines, supported by partnerships across sectors.
  • The India AI Impact Summit 2026 further reflects the growth of India’s AI ecosystem.
  • The challenge now is to ensure that AI-enabled productivity gains reach the base of the economic pyramid, including women farmers, home-based workers, self-help group members and platform workers.
  • Inclusion must be embedded in procurement, AI design, training, safety frameworks and impact measurement.
• From AI Access to AI Empowerment
  • The goal should be to move from digital access to meaningful economic empowerment.
  • Women must not merely consume AI services but use them to improve incomes, productivity, financial independence and access to public services.
  • They should also participate as designers, entrepreneurs, workers and decision-makers within the AI ecosystem. 

Conclusion

• AI can either deepen structural inequalities or become an instrument of inclusive development.
• India’s success will depend on gender-responsive governance, AI literacy, digital safety and equitable productivity gains.
• By 2047, AI success should not be measured merely by investment, deployment or technological capability.
• Its real measure should be whether women at the margins of the formal economy gain productive, safe and meaningful access to AI-enabled opportunities.