AI elevates value of professionals in India rather than replacing them, says CEA Anantha Nageswaran
New Delhi, July 9
Artificial intelligence raises the value of each working professional rather than replacing them, Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India, V. Anantha Nageswaran, said on Thursday.
Speaking at the GCC Business Summit hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Nageswaran addressed emerging anxieties surrounding automation and outlined the evolving trajectory of India's capability hubs.
The CEA acknowledged that while routine, repetitive, and rule-bound tasks face exposure to cheap automation, well-run centers are leveraging technology to enhance human roles. He emphasized that artificial intelligence requires human oversight to design, train, test, and govern the systems.
"AI does not therefore empty these centers. In the centers that are run well, the AI raises the value of each person who works there. So the risk is there, but that is not destiny. The centers that stand still will suffer. The centers that move up will thrive," Nageswaran said.
"A country that treats a powerful technology as fate will end up being shaped by it. A country that treats AI as a tool will shape it instead. India must be in the second group," he added.
The CEA highlighted that India currently hosts approximately half of the world's GCCs, spanning over 2,000 centers that employ more than 2 million professionals. Sector revenues have crossed USD 60 billion, contributing nearly 2 per cent to the national gross domestic product (GDP).
He noted that more than 1,200 of these centers perform advanced work in artificial intelligence and machine learning, establishing India as the second largest enterprise AI talent base globally.
Nageswaran mentioned that global firms "first came to India for cost. They stayed for capability. That's an important difference. A cost advantage can be copied by the next low-cost country. A capability advantage is harder to build and harder to lose as well."
He highlighted that global banks run trading platforms in Mumbai and Bengaluru, car makers design embedded systems in Chennai and Pune, and semiconductor firms conduct chip design locally. He cited German firm Merck's new campus in Bangalore, which holds the company's largest concentration of digital capability worldwide, making India its fourth largest workforce hub.
"Success can breed complacency. The advantage we hold today was built over time, but it can also erode. Other countries are watching us and copying us. Our costs are rising. In some skills, our talent is already scarce," Nageswaran cautioned.
The CEA noted that "what began as support became engineering and what began as engineering became product and what began as a back office became in many firms the place where global decisions are now made."
He stated that the benefit has flowed both ways. Global firms got world class work done at a fair price and Indian professionals got careers they "could not have imagined one generation earlier. GCC roles today often pay much more than traditional services jobs." "Our goal should never be to make our people work like machines. Our goal should be to use machines so that our people are freed to do more of what only people can do, to reason, to decide, to take responsibility, and to exercise wisdom," Nageswaran concluded.
— ANI
Reader Comments
This is a very optimistic view, and I hope it plays out that way. But what about the millions in ITEs (IT-enabled services) who do repetitive tasks? They might not have the education to pivot to high-end roles. The government should invest heavily in reskilling programs, especially in tier-2 and tier-3 cities where automation will hit hardest. "Moving up" is easier said than done.
I've worked in both the US and now in a GCC in India. The difference is night and day. Here in Pune, my team is doing chip design that rivals anything in Silicon Valley. Nageswaran's point about "capability vs cost" is spot on. India has built an ecosystem that can't be replicated overnight. That said, we need to keep innovating—other Asian countries are closing the gap fast.
I work for a German pharma company's GCC in Hyderabad. When Merck set up their largest digital hub here, many of us were worried about job losses. But honestly, AI has made our lab work faster and more accurate. Now we get to design experiments instead of just running them. The salary hike mentioned in the article is real—I'm earning double what I would in a traditional services job. But yes, you have to keep learning.
This is encouraging to hear from a government official. But actions speak louder than words. Is the government creating specific policies to help small and medium GCCs adopt AI responsibly? Many firms are struggling with basic digitization. The CEA's warning about "centers that stand still will suffer" is crucial—we need government-backed training programs at scale, not just speeches at summits.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.