AI Impact on India’s Tech Jobs: Over 2 Million Jobs to be Affected | NITI Aayog Report
The rapid advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is poised to significantly impact India’s tech sector, a report by NITI Aayog reveals. While AI may lead to the loss of up to two million jobs in this sector that currently employs around eight million people, it also has the potential to create as many as four million new roles over the next five years. This transformative change could affect not just direct tech jobs but an entire ecosystem supporting 20 to 30 million others, indicating a massive economic ripple effect.
NITI Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam emphasizes that without proactive adaptation, job losses are inevitable. However, with the right vision and reskilling strategies, India could transform its workforce from 8 million to potentially 10-12 million tech professionals. The nature of expertise and job profiles is evolving fast, requiring immediate attention and coordinated action among government, academia, and industry.
The Aayog recommends launching a National AI Talent Mission – a coordinated national effort to position India as the global capital of AI workforce talent and innovation. This mission would integrate with the ongoing India AI Mission and foster partnerships to nurture AI skills in education and workplace training. The goal is to embed AI literacy from schools to universities and vocational programs, build a large pipeline of trained AI talent, and make India a preferred global hub for AI innovation and development by 2035.
The report also highlights current challenges: high job displacement risk in routine roles, gaps in computer science education, and a shortage of AI talent. Nonetheless, India’s strength lies in its vast pool of over 9 million technology and customer experience professionals, bolstered by the world’s largest young digital workforce. With urgency, vision, and coordination, India can not only preserve jobs but lead global AI advancements and economic growth.
AI Impact on India’s Tech Jobs
Key initiatives suggested include widespread reskilling, promoting ethical AI roles, and creating supportive infrastructure such as better open data access and AI research commons. Experts from industry giants like IBM, Infosys, and Tech Mahindra contributed to the roadmap, underscoring the industry’s stake in this transformative period.
As AI reshapes work in India’s $245 billion tech and customer experience industries, the choices made today will define whether India faces irreversible job cuts or becomes a global AI talent epicenter. With strategic and swift action, India is positioned to turn AI impact on India’s tech jobs into unprecedented opportunity.
