Important points:
- India's AI workforce will double by 2027, driving job growth in AI and data roles.
- National and corporate skills programs are rapidly increasing the skills of professionals in emerging technologies.
- Gujarat will launch its first PPP AI research institute at GIFT City to enhance AI innovation.
India's artificial intelligence workforce, or India AI workforce, is expected to double to more than 12.5 million professionals by 2027, countering concerns that large numbers of jobs will be lost as AI adoption accelerates across industries, according to government data.
India's rapid adoption of artificial intelligence is creating jobs rather than eliminating them, according to a year-end report released by the central government on Tuesday. The memo cites industry data that predicts significant growth in AI-related jobs over the next two years.
The government referred to a NASSCOM report titled 'Advances in AI Skills in India'. The report predicts that India's AI talent pool will grow from around 600,000 to 6.5 million professionals to more than 12.5 million by 2027. The expected average annual growth rate is approximately 15%.
Officials said demand is rising across roles such as data science, data curation, AI engineering and analytics. As of August 2025, approximately 865,000 candidates have enrolled or completed training in emerging technologies, including 320,000 in AI and big data analytics, the memo said.
“Although AI is often seen as a job destroyer, evidence shows that it is creating new career paths and opportunities,” the note said, adding that skills development remains central to sustaining the growth of India's AI workforce.
The government insists that AI will create jobs, not replace them.
The government highlighted large-scale efforts to prepare the workforce for AI-driven change through the National Skills Improvement Initiative. Chief among them is FutureSkills PRIME, launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to reskill and upskill information technology professionals.
FutureSkills PRIME focuses on 10 emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. As of August 2025, over 18.56 million candidates have registered on the platform and over 3.37 million have completed courses, expanding India's talent pool for AI talent.
Officials said AI is reshaping governance and public services beyond work. Technologies such as machine learning, optical character recognition, and natural language processing are currently being used for translation, prediction, automated filing, intelligent scheduling, and chatbot-based citizen communication.
AI tools are also being deployed to improve management efficiency and decision-making across the department, the memo said.
Skills programs expand as industry scales training
Industry leaders say India has an opportunity to play a central role in the global AI ecosystem if talent development keeps pace with demand.
“India has a huge opportunity to become a global leader in AI, and creating AI fluency at scale is a critical step in that process,” said the Indian head of a global technology company quoted in the report.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has also said that India's technology sector has the potential to become the “front office of the world's AI revolution”.
Big tech companies are already investing heavily in AI training. Tata Consultancy Services has approximately 350,000 employees, Wipro has trained approximately 220,000 employees, and Microsoft aims to provide AI skills to 2 million Indians by 2025, all of which are contributing to strengthening India's AI workforce. Infosys launched a customized in-house AI program and partnered with academic institutions through the Infosys Springboard initiative.
Despite this momentum, NASSCOM warned that the 25-35% growth in the AI market could still create a gap between demand and supply of skilled professionals.
Gujarat plans first PPP AI research institute in GIFT City
In a related development, Gujarat will start operating the Indian AI Research Institute on January 1, 2026 under a public-private partnership model. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel gave in-principle approval, making Gujarat the first state to set up such an AI agency through a PPP framework.
The organization is established as a non-profit special purpose vehicle under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 and is based in GIFT City. The state government, the central government and the Pharmaceutical Union of India will each contribute around Rs 300 million.
Officials said the initiative is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to strengthen India's capabilities in emerging technologies, accelerate AI research and innovation across the country, and further strengthen India's AI workforce.
