India Uses AI, But Can It Build It? Romal Shetty On IT’s Future

At the BT India@100 Summit, Deloitte South Asia CEO Romal Shetty explores the paradox of India being the largest user base of ChatGPT—yet lagging behind in creating global tech product companies like OpenAI. In conversation with Siddharth Zarabi, Shetty argues that India’s strength in services must evolve into product-plus-services models. With Indian IT at an AI crossroads, he sees long-term opportunity, not disruption—predicting an even stronger Indian IT industry 30 years from now. He candidly explains why Indian firms haven’t produced global tech products yet—despite their cash-rich status—and what mindset shift is required to break through. A reflective, forward-looking session on tech, innovation, and India’s digital future.