AI disruption reshaping jobs in India's USD 245 bn technology, CX sectors

New Delhi, Oct 10 (PTI) Artificial intelligence disruption is already reshaping jobs in India's USD 245 billion technology and CX (Customer Experience) sectors, and without swift action, routine roles like quality assurance engineers and support agents risk rapid redundancy, Niti Aayog said on Friday.

The Aayog, in a report titled 'Roadmap for Job Creation in the AI Economy', said that while India’s tech services sector faces the threat of significant job displacements by 2031, it also has the opportunity to create up to 4 million new jobs over the next five years.

With the right skilling, reskilling, and innovation pathways, India could emerge as a global hub for AI-first roles -- from Ethical AI Specialists and AI Trainers to Sentiment Analysts and AI DevOps Engineers, it added.

To turn disruption into opportunity, Niti Aayog recommended the launch of a National AI Talent Mission, a bold, nationally coordinated effort to transform India into the AI workforce capital of the world.

The roadmap by the Aayog envisions a mission-mode approach anchored on three key pillars: embedding AI across the education system to make AI literacy a foundational skill in schools, universities, and vocational programs; building a national reskilling engine to upskill and reskill millions of technology and CX professionals for higher-value, AI-augmented roles; and positioning India as a global AI talent magnet by retaining domestic talent, attracting international experts, and establishing the country as a premier AI skilling destination.

The report also advocated for close collaboration between the proposed India AI Talent Mission and the ongoing India AI Mission, along with partnerships between academia, government and industry, to create an enabling ecosystem of compute infrastructure and data availability to forge the trained talent into innovators and researchers of tomorrow.

While noting that India’s future in the AI economy hinges on decisive action, the report said that with coordinated leadership across government, industry, and academia, India can not only safeguard its workforce but also lead in shaping global AI.

Releasing the report, Niti Aayog CEO BVR Subrahmanyam said that India's strength lies in its people.

"With over 9 million technology and customer experience professionals, and the world’s largest pool of young digital talent, we have both the scale and ambition.

"What we need now is urgency, vision, and coordination," Subrahmanyam said. PTI BKS BKS BAL BAL