India, July 9 -- India's AI plans are moving fast, but the data behind them may not be ready for the race. According to Confluent's 2026 Data Streaming Report, 79% of Indian IT leaders say weak real time data infrastructure is slowing their ability to scale artificial intelligence.

That matters because AI is moving beyond demos and pilot projects. Companies now want AI systems that can support customer service, operations, fraud checks, analytics, and decision making. For that, models need fresh, accurate, and trusted data. Without it, even the smartest AI can end up making slow or poor decisions.

The study surveyed 4,625 IT leaders across 14 countries, including 650 respondents from India. It found that 79% of Indian IT leaders have fa...