Indian financial institutions are rapidly transitioning from experimenting with AI to deploying it at scale, aiming to boost revenue rather than just cut costs. Kiran Jagannath, Head of FSI and Conglomerates at AWS India and South Asia, notes that the focus is shifting towards "agentic AI," which involves autonomous agents capable of handling complex tasks. He anticipates this technology will dominate Indian banking in the next three years.
Jagannath highlighted the significant opportunities arising from India's digitization movement over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the shift from branch-based engagement to digital channels for banks, insurers, and other financial entities. He emphasized that AI-driven efficiencies are now directly contributing to top-line growth. As an example, he mentioned fintech company Cashfree, which used generative AI to reduce merchant onboarding time from hours to under 10 minutes, preventing potential business losses.
According to Jagannath, last year's focus was on the productivity and efficiency gains from generative AI, with many use cases already in production. This year, the conversation has evolved to how AI agents can further improve business processes, ultimately driving revenue and top-line growth. He believes that agentic AI will drive future growth in the banking sector.
Jagannath stated that the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has evolved, with technology leaders now having a "seat at the table" on boards. He predicts that within three years, discussions will center on how AI agents are innovating various experiences and transforming business and technology processes. While acknowledging the potential of quantum computing, he asserts that agentic AI is the most immediate and transformative prospect for the financial sector.
Agentic AI involves multiple agents with human-like reasoning working together to complete end-to-end processes. These systems excel at optimizing processes and automating complex workflows that previously required human expertise. AI agents can analyze market conditions, adjust risk parameters in real-time, and optimize trading strategies and compliance monitoring.
Successful implementation of agentic AI requires cloud-native infrastructure that balances innovation with stringent security requirements. AWS offers services designed for the financial sector's regulatory compliance and security standards. Financial institutions are prioritizing investments in AI and generative AI, and AWS provides AI and machine learning (ML) services that can be integrated into existing applications.
Indian enterprises are rapidly adopting AI, with 47% having multiple AI use cases live in production and another 10% scaling deployments across business units. Only 23% remain in early pilot stages. About 24% have already deployed Agentic AI, which involves autonomous software agents capable of decision-making and tool use. This acceleration is occurring even though global research suggests slower enterprise adoption elsewhere. Indian companies are innovating around the limitations of current AI models instead of waiting for them to mature.
Financial institutions are finding that agentic AI offers advantages over traditional generative AI approaches. A recent study revealed that 70% of participants surveyed prioritize AI for risk and compliance, while significant percentages are using AI for accelerating analysis (66%), reducing costs (64%), handling larger data volumes (56%), and improving accuracy (51%).
