At a time when the Indian IT sector is navigating uncertainty, industry leaders are expressing confidence that artificial intelligence will act as a growth catalyst rather than a disruption.
Nasscom Chairman Srikanth Velamakanni stated that AI will strengthen India’s technology industry and continue to drive hiring, even as companies adjust to changing market conditions. He highlighted that AI is improving performance and reinforcing long-term confidence in the sector.
“AI is going to accelerate India’s tech industry. It’s not going to be a threat to our tech industry. That is the most important thing. If one understands that, I think we’re in a very good place because firstly, there is a significant performance improvement.
“Secondly, there’s a lot of belief in the future of this industry. The tech industry has a very bright future, and I want to make sure that the world recognises that in my tenure here at NASSCOM,” he said.
Hiring trends, however, have shown moderation. TCS plans to hire around 25,000 freshers in FY 2027, compared to 44,000 in FY 2026, while several firms are reporting slower headcount growth. Velamakanni acknowledged the slowdown but said structural changes driven by AI will reshape hiring patterns.
“We know that the pace of hiring has decreased. There is no question about that. That’s the elephant in the room. Part of that is because growth has been lower than expected.
“In addition, there is compression coming from various kinds of AI technologies, which are making it easier to do the same work with fewer human hours. Now, as AI becomes even better, the need for enterprise AI will just dramatically go up,” he said.
He added that AI-led transformation across business processes will unlock a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity.
“That multi-trillion dollar opportunity, as it scales up, even though tech per se will become cheaper, the number of things that we need in tech will dramatically expand. It’s a 1000 times expansion with a 10 times compression, which means a hundred X expansion is still possible. The best days of the tech industry are ahead of us. As growth restores, employment will also start to pick up,” he said.
The Indian tech industry is expected to reach nearly $300 billion in revenue in FY 2026, up from about $282 billion in FY 2025.
Velamakanni also pointed to geopolitical uncertainty as a key challenge, noting that it is delaying decision-making and impacting growth visibility. He emphasised the need to build resilience across organisations and supply chains to manage these risks.
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