The demand for jobs related to artificial intelligence is on a steady rise in India, which can leverage its vast talent pool and create a robust ecosystem for the technology's innovation and development.
A quick search for AI jobs in the country on LinkedIn throws up over 13,500 postings.
There has been an increase in demand for generative AI-related roles in India over the past five years, with an 89.50% rise in job searches and a 158.40% jump in job postings from March 2018 to March 2023, according to job portal Indeed.
The demand for AI talent has increased by 112% since the pandemic, with a rise of 11% over the last six months—led by retail, telecom, BFSI, advertising, marketing and information technology sectors—according to job search platform Foundit.
"The surge in job searches related to AI in India reflects the growing interest and demand for skilled professionals in this field," said Sashi Kumar, head of sales at Indeed India.
Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari said the supply is also not far behind and India has among the highest—if not the highest—AI skill sets in the world.
India has a natural positioning of being able to serve companies with talent capability that will be required to create and deliver solutions, the Nasscom Chairperson said, in an interview with BQ Prime this week.
TeamLease Digital's Krishna Vij said that according to industry data, India produces 16% of the world's AI talent pool and currently ranks first in terms of skill penetration and talent concentration,
The government is investing in research, education and infrastructure, and has launched several initiatives to promote the development and adoption of AI, said Vij, the business head of IT staffing at the technology professional services platform.
Efforts from industry and academia are also contributing to ramping up AI skilling and initiatives at scale, Vij said.
Jang Bahadur Singh, director of human capital solutions at Aon India, said the country would certainly be one of the largest talent economies when it comes to the skillset across the AI value chain, such as machine learning, data science and software engineering.
Salary
Salaries in the field of AI have been increasing rapidly, reflecting the high demand for AI professionals, Vij said.
She estimated that the median salary for AI professionals in India is around Rs 15–20 lakh per annum, while it could go up to Rs 50–60 lakh per annum for experienced professionals.
Threats And OpportunitiesÂ
Maheshwari said there would be supply side effects, but how that shapes up remains to be seen.
Foundit CEO Sekhar Garisa said while there are several dialogues regarding job losses with the intervention of AI, it is also expected to create newer roles and increase employment opportunities.
In the present scenario, AI and automation are acting more as catalysts than threats for professionals in the industry. It is necessary to keep up with emerging trends as every role becomes obsolete beyond a certain period without new learnings, according to Garisa.
Hence, he said, upskilling is a long-term investment for career progression and it should be fostered along the growth journey of any employee, making them market-ready even in tough times. "Today's employees must be prepared to adapt to learn, unlearn and relearn to remain relevant in (the) future."
India's AI Edge: Is It Enough?
As the demand for AI talent continues to rise globally, there is an opportunity for India to leverage its vast talent pool and create a robust ecosystem for AI innovation and development, Kumar said.
Despite India being a major hub for AI talent globally, industry projections are that demand outpaces the supply of AI talent by almost 33%, according to Vij.
As AI is a rapidly evolving field and requires a combination of technical and analytical skills along with domain knowledge, there is a constant need for upskilling and reskilling due to the interdisciplinary nature of AI, he said.
Since skilling challenges with AI are complex, it requires significant investments and coordinated effort from the government, businesses and educational institutes.
The adoption of AI and other emerging technologies poses challenges, such as availability of skilled talent, upskilling of existing workforce, and bridging the gap between industry and academia, Kumar said.
Maheshwari said while the world is short of AI talent, India is moving ahead and has a strong skilling ecosystem to drive it forward.
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