Despite the immense promise of artificial intelligence in urban infrastructure, most Indian cities remain far from fully integrating it. According to Raghunath K., senior consultant at the Texas Department of Transportation, “Urban departments often operate in silos with fragmented data systems,” severely limiting AI’s predictive power. With 80% of Indian cities lacking integrated data frameworks and only 20% of municipal leaders confident in using AI, real progress remains slow.

Prajjwal Misra, director at Rudrabhishek Infosystem (RIPL), adds that the hesitation isn’t just technological—it’s cultural and economic. “AI is helping us automate a lot of manual work… it’s doing the exact opposite [of replacing jobs],” he noted. High upfront costs and public mistrust around data privacy remain strong deterrents, while most government projects still fail to scale beyond pilot phases. “For every 500 AI pilot projects, only two or three are fully implemented,” Misra revealed.

Even so, AI is quietly at work. From satellite imagery detecting property encroachments to digital twins in public transport, small wins are emerging. Koilakonda points out that AI-based tools could reduce procurement waste by up to 20% and cut downtime by 30% in predictive maintenance scenarios. “If you’ve ever gotten a traffic ticket for overspeeding in India, that’s AI,” Misra remarked.

Yet the path forward requires more than isolated efforts. Misra envisions AI as part of a multi-tech ecosystem, while Koilakonda urges for investment in data governance and capacity-building. Until then, AI may remain an invisible assistant rather than a true planner of India’s urban future.