A NASSCOM report highlighted that the Indian AI market is expected to touch US$17 billion by 2027, driven by enterprise adoption and a robust talent pool. It is estimated that about 1.25 million AI professionals would be required in India by next year. 

But the shortage of trained AI professionals is already being felt. A 2025 report by Bain & Company highlighted that while in India the AI sector could open up more than 2.3 million jobs by 2027, the shortage will also be significant.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while delivering his 13th Independence Day speech this year, announced that in the next year, one crore youth will be trained in AI skills.

The question is how.

Policymakers and industry say that India needs preparedness on two levels. “One is to groom citizens at large to be ready for an AI-driven economy and the second is to have trained AI professionals who would be able to steer the ecosystem itself,” an analyst said.

Homegrown firms such as Sarvam AI and government-led BharatGen are just a few names that have already made a mark in the field. India, with an eye on AI sovereignty needs more such needs more such firms to come up.

The shortage of skilled professionals, if not addressed immediately, may, however, dent India’s AI game. As organizations move from experimentation to real-world deployment, universities are becoming important partners in preparing students and working professionals for this changing environment.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) told The Secretariat that the government is aware of the requirements and has already carved out several programmes and will continue to provide the necessary support to nurture cutting-edge research.

“You need people who are capable of actually building AI models and doing the cutting-edge research. Clearly, companies like Sarvam, Pragyan AI and others have also shown that our university products are capable of doing that,” Krishnan said, adding that the over ₹1.3 billion India AI Mission supports professionals.

The private sector is doing its bit too.

You need people who are capable of actually building AI models and doing the cutting-edge research

– S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY

A few days ago, Protiviti Member Firm for India announced a strategic partnership with Bhubaneswar-based KIIT University to set up an AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the university campus. The aim is to create an integrated platform to prepare students and working professionals for the rapidly evolving demands of the AI-driven economy.

"AI is fundamentally changing the way organisations operate, compete, and create value. As businesses accelerate their AI journeys, there is an urgent need for talent that understands not only the technology but also its business, governance, and risk implications,” Sanjeev Agarwal, CEO & Managing Director - Protiviti Member Firm - Middle East & India, said.

“Through this AI Center of Excellence, we aim to combine academic learning with practical industry experience to equip students with the practical skills, industry exposure and broader perspective needed to contribute meaningfully to India’s rapidly evolving AI and digital economy,” he said.

There is an urgent need for talent that understands not only the technology but also its business, governance, and risk implications

– Sanjeev Agarwal, CEO & Managing Director, Protiviti Member Firm (Middle East & India)

India’s AI opportunity is increasingly being shaped by a challenge that sits beyond technology: having enough people with the right skills to put AI into practice.

India’s AI Picture

In Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam, Google, with an investment of about US$15 billion, is setting up one of its largest AI hubs outside the US. The investment will be made over the next five years. The Tata Group too has announced a US$11 billion investment in Maharashtra. The company plans to set up an AI innovation city.

AI is one sector that has been driving investments from the private sector. According to Tracxn, India has about 2900 AI companies. A large number of startups have also emerged.

In 2026 alone, about 317 new AI startups have been founded. The number was 518 in 2024. The Tracxn report noted that “this is the highest number of startups founded in any year in the last 10 years.”

The Global Picture

While the US and China are the clear global leaders in driving the AI ecosystem, other countries, including India, the UK, Singapore, South Korea, and France, among others, have pressed the pedal.

China has adopted a top-down approach to train its citizens to be ready to drive the AI ecosystem. Though McKinsey, in a report, said that China will face a shortage of professionals in the next five years, Beijing is aggressively focusing on providing research and higher education opportunities in the field of AI. Its universities and colleges have already introduced specialised AI courses and degrees for the young, who would be joining the workforce in the next few years.

Globally too, the demand for AI talent is shifting from people who can only build models to professionals who can deploy, manage, govern, and apply them in real business settings.

Clearly, what India now needs is a multipronged approach involving the government—at the Centre as well as the states and the private sector to ensure that it takes a lead in the AI game.

Well-designed universities with dedicated centres of excellence need to come up, which can then help address the gap by bringing together industry practitioners, academics and researchers, hands-on learning environments, domain-specific programmes, internships, applied projects, and flexible certification pathways.