Anupam Mittal, the outspoken founder of Shaadi.com and a well-known judge on “Shark Tank India,” has issued a serious warning about India’s growing “deep-tech obsession” and “blind AI push.”
He argues that the nation’s current AI skilling infrastructure is “dangerously out of sync” with its ambitious technological objectives. Mittal’s critique highlights the urgent need to focus on job creation and tackle the employment challenges faced by India’s large, predominantly self-employed, and low-skilled workforce.
In a recent LinkedIn post that has ignited extensive discussion, Mittal pointed out the gap between elite tech conversations and the real-life experiences of ordinary Indians. He included a striking photo of an elderly woman in a Blinkit delivery jacket, paired with an ironic caption: “Maybe she should learn Python. Perhaps she can fine-tune an LLM too, while delivering your groceries.”
This compelling imagery emphasized his worry that, despite the excessive focus on advanced AI, millions of people remain either under-skilled or left out of the advantages brought by technological progress.
Mittal compared India’s circumstances to those of Western economies, which he pointed out have smaller populations, higher formal employment rates, and substantial reskilling budgets that facilitate immediate upskilling as new technologies arise. “India is not there yet,” he emphasized, highlighting that most of India’s workforce is self-employed and does not have access to formal upskilling resources.
He praised the gig economy as a “blessing” for India, acknowledging its role in providing jobs for millions in a country that represents about 20% of the global population. Nevertheless, Mittal warned that placing too much emphasis on deep-tech as the only answer to all challenges could “threaten the livelihoods of a billion-plus nation.”
Mittal promotes a more balanced strategy, underscoring the necessity for India to cater to both its highly-skilled and talented individuals who are ready to create future global tech leaders, as well as the large low-skilled population that needs to be included in the technological advancement.
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