I'll identify small and mid-cap Indian listed companies that are least likely to be significantly affected by AI advancements. These companies will come from sectors such as FMCG, cement, utilities, traditional manufacturing, and essential retail. I'll also consider both stable, low-disruption businesses and those with strong growth potential.I will get back to you once I have the insights ready.

AI-Resilient Small/Mid-Cap Indian Companies

Below are several Indian small and mid-cap companies in FMCG, building materials, utilities, traditional manufacturing, and essential consumer goods that are unlikely to be significantly affected by AI advancements. Each has strong brands or market positions, stable demand for physical products/services, and limited exposure to digital disruption:

• Emami Ltd. (FMCG – Personal Care/Healthcare) – Emami is a mid-cap consumer goods company known for popular brands like Navratna oil, BoroPlus antiseptic cream, and Zandu Balm. It holds dominant market share in these niches (e.g. ~63% of India’s cooling hair oil market and ~68% of antiseptic creams)www.emamigroup.com, indicating deep brand loyalty. Demand for its products is steady as they are everyday personal care staples, and there’s no digital substitute for items like hair oils or balms. Because Emami’s business centers on physical goods with trusted brands, it faces minimal risk from AI-driven competition. The company has also grown by adding new products and acquiring brands in allied categories, supporting its long-term growth within the defensive FMCG sectorwww.emamigroup.com.

• Hatsun Agro Product (Dairy FMCG) – Hatsun Agro is India’s largest private-sector dairy company, with well-known brands such as Arun Ice Creams, Arokya milk, and Hatsun curd dominating their segmentsfoundermagazine.in. Dairy products like milk, curd, and ice cream enjoy stable, non-cyclical demand – consumers purchase these essential foods regardless of economic conditions, and they cannot be replaced by any AI application. Hatsun’s strong brand recognition (especially in South India) and extensive cold-chain network give it a loyal customer base. Its industry is insulated from digital disruption (people will always need real dairy products), and the company continues to expand as rising incomes drive higher consumption of quality dairy. In fact, Hatsun has been one of the fastest-growing dairy firms in Asiaen.wikipedia.org, indicating solid growth potential even as it maintains a defensive business model.

• JK Cement Ltd. (Cement & Building Materials) – JK Cement is a mid-cap cement manufacturer with a strong presence in northern India and a leadership position in specialty products like white cement and wall putty. It is one of the top white cement producers nationally (part of a duopoly in that niche)www.careratings.com, which gives it pricing power and steady margins. Cement is an essential input for construction, so demand is anchored by ongoing infrastructure and housing projects rather than tech trends. There is no digital or AI alternative to cement for building roads or homes, meaning JK Cement’s core business is shielded from AI disruption. The company’s brand is trusted among builders for quality, and it has been expanding capacity into new regions to capitalize on India’s infrastructure growthwww.careratings.com. This stable demand outlook and controlled competition in its specialty segment make JK Cement’s business resilient and positioned for moderate growth as construction activity rises.

• Astral Ltd. (Pipes & Building Plastics) – Astral is a leading manufacturer of plumbing pipes and related building materials, known for pioneering CPVC plastic pipes in India. It is the market leader in the high-margin CPVC pipes segment and among the top three players in India’s overall piping industrywww.icicidirect.com. Astral’s products (pipes, fittings, adhesives, etc.) have steady demand driven by construction and repairs – every building needs pipes for water, and regular maintenance ensures recurring sales. This is a physical industry with virtually no threat from AI-driven competition: you cannot replace the need for quality pipes or adhesives with software, and Astral’s main competitors are other manufacturers, not tech startups. The company enjoys strong brand preference among plumbers and contractors for its reliability. It also has significant growth prospects, as it’s diversifying into new categories like water tanks, sanitaryware, and paints to leverage its distribution networkwww.icicidirect.com. With India’s housing and urbanization on the rise, Astral’s combination of brand strength and essential products makes it highly resilient to digital disruption while offering solid growth within its sector.

• Indraprastha Gas Ltd. (Utility – City Gas Distribution) – IGL is the monopoly supplier of piped natural gas (PNG) to households and CNG fuel to vehicles in the Delhi NCR region, a position it has held since 1999m.economictimes.com. As a regulated utility, it provides an essential service – cooking gas and transport fuel – with consistent demand from millions of customers. This business faces minimal impact from AI because delivering gas requires physical pipelines and refueling stations; no app or AI algorithm can replace the distribution of actual fuel. Even as regulators open the market to nominal competition, IGL’s entrenched infrastructure gives it a huge moat. The company’s management is confident it can protect its Delhi market share, noting it will be “very challenging” for any new entrant to replicate IGL’s network or make inroads into its territorym.economictimes.com. In addition, IGL continues to add new connections and expand to adjoining areas, ensuring steady growth in volume. Its stable cash flows, essential-service nature, and insulation from digital disruption underscore IGL’s resilience to the AI revolution.

• Hawkins Cookers Ltd. (Traditional Manufacturing – Kitchenware) – Hawkins is a small-cap manufacturer of pressure cookers and cookware, and is a household name in India’s kitchens. Established in 1959, the company has built a reputation for safety, durability, and trust, exporting its products to numerous countrieswww.boardinfinity.com. Indian consumers exhibit strong brand loyalty toward Hawkins – generations have used its pressure cookers, which are synonymous with reliable home cooking. Demand for cookware is stable and defensive: as long as people cook food at home, basic utensils like pressure cookers will be needed, regardless of economic or technological changes. There is virtually no risk of AI replacing cookware, and while Hawkins can adopt better manufacturing tech, its core product will remain a physical necessity. The company’s focus on quality and its loyal customer base keep revenues steady, and it has expanded its product range (e.g. introducing new cooker models and cookware) to drive modest growth. In a world of high-tech disruption, Hawkins thrives on low-tech essentials – a resilient business anchored by its brand legacy and the unchanging nature of cooking needs.

• Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals (Consumer Durables) – Crompton is a mid-cap leader in appliances like electric fans, water pumps, lighting, and small kitchen devices. It holds an unparalleled market position in fans – roughly 26–27% share of India’s fan market – and similarly leads in residential pumpswww.businesstoday.in. This long-established brand enjoys wide distribution and trust; many Indian households specifically seek out Crompton fans or bulbs due to their reliabilitywww.businesstoday.in. The demand for its products is linked to housing and daily living (fans and lights are used year-round), which is stable and non-discretionary. Crucially, AI advancements pose little threat here – you cannot cool a room or pump water via the internet. While appliances may get “smarter” with IoT features, Crompton itself can integrate those; there’s no digital competitor that eliminates the need for the physical product. The company has been investing in product innovation and premiumization (for example, smarter fans and LED lighting) to stay ahead, and even expanded into kitchen appliances by acquiring a well-known cookware brand. These moves give Crompton additional growth avenues, but it remains a fundamentally defensive business. Its combination of market dominance in essential home utilities and the inability of AI to replace those tangible goods makes Crompton highly resilient to technological disruption while still offering growth within its category. Each of the above companies operates in an “old economy” segment where physical products and on-the-ground networks matter more than algorithms. They benefit from strong consumer trust or natural monopolies, ensuring that AI and digital trends augment rather than upend their businesses. These firms either have steady defensive profiles or are growing within their niches, making them well-positioned to weather the AI era with limited risk of obsolescence.www.hindustantimes.comupstox.com