[ PAPER ID: 85447 ] DIGITAL INEQUALITY IN THE ERA OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: STRUCTURAL EXCLUSION, GOVERNANCE CHALLENGES, AND INCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA : ARTICLE INFO: Date of Submission: Dec 21, 2025, Revised: Jan 02, 2026, Accepted: Jan 09, 2026, CrossRef D.O.I : https://doi.org/10.56815/ijmrr.v5i1.2026.73-79, HOW TO CITE: Kakati Trishna (2026). Digital Inequality in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Structural Exclusion, Governance Challenges, and Inclusive Development in India. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Reviews, 5(1), 73-79.

Trishna Kakati

Authors

Trishna Kakati Research Scholar, Department of Sociology, Assam Down Town University, Assam, India.

Abstract

Digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) have emerged as central components of contemporary development strategies, reshaping economic production, governance mechanisms, and social relations worldwide. In India, digital transformation is widely promoted as a pathway to inclusive growth, administrative efficiency, and technological leadership. However, the diffusion of digital and AI-driven technologies remains deeply uneven, producing new forms of inequality while simultaneously reinforcing longstanding social hierarchies. This paper critically examines the digital divide in India in the context of the expanding use of artificial intelligence. Moving beyond a narrow understanding of the digital divide as a problem of internet access, the study conceptualizes digital inequality as a multidimensional phenomenon encompassing infrastructure, skills, usage, and socio-economic outcomes. Drawing on secondary data from scholarly literature, government policy documents, and reports by international organizations, the paper analyses how disparities based on class, gender, caste, region, and education shape unequal access to AI-enabled opportunities. It further explores the implications of these inequalities for education, employment, and digital governance. The study argues that without a socially grounded and ethically informed policy framework, AI-driven development risks deepening exclusion rather than promoting equity. The paper concludes by emphasizing the need for inclusive digital governance, investment in digital capabilities, and human-centred AI policies to ensure that technological progress contributes to sustainable and equitable development in India.