As AI picks up adoption across multiple domains, the technology sector in India is projected to add up to 1.2 lakh new roles for artificial intelligence(AI) – Generative AI and Analytics – over the period of next 2 years.
120,000 New Roles Expected as AI Adoption Accelerates
It would primarily be tech services, Global Capability Centres (GCC), pure play AI and analytics, start-up and tech product companies where these roles shall be created.
It was following a period of heavy hiring activity that the demand in the sector moderated over the past years. While there are fears and apprehensions of AI eating into jobs, there is a larger debate over the same wherein the adoption of AI technologies is simultaneously creating new roles and opportunities.
As per the founder and CEO of market intelligence firm UnearthInsight, Gaurav Vasu, “We estimate 120,000 to 150,000 new demands or roles for AI (Gen AI) and Analytics over the next 2 years as clients move from Proof of Concept(PoC) to large scale deployment and also as Indian IT services industry adds AI applications for clients, this would create new roles from AI researcher, application specialists, AI product managers to AI consultants”.
With the industry projections to reach 1 million by 2026, there are currently around 4 lakh AI engineers in India where the actual demand is for 6 lakhs. As per the TeamLease Digital, the surge in the demand can be attributed to the digital transformation across industries like IT, manufacturing, healthcare, and finance.
Krishna Vij, Vice President at TeamLease Digital said that “It is estimated that around 90,000–120,000 new AI roles will open up in India alone over the next two years, driven by the rapid adoption of AI across sectors like healthcare, e-commerce, banking, and autonomous systems”.
With the focus on advanced algorithms, machine learning, and automation, the AI roles are significantly different than the traditional tech roles. As per the HR analysts, while the latter emphasizes the software development as well as systems maintenance, the former is more concerned about developing autonomous models and intelligent systems, with applications in data science, natural language processing, and predictive analytics.
AI Specialized Roles: Premium Compensation Amid Talent Shortage
There are positions like ML Engineers, Data Scientists, and Prompt Engineers which are far more specialised and multi-faceted and require expertise in areas like deep learning, robotics, and natural language processing.
Marking these as essential across various stages of AI implementation, rise of generative AI has transformed these roles, right from consulting to application development and support.
Speaking about the compensation part, Krishna Gautam, Business Head – Direct Hiring IT, Xpheno said that “About 80% of AI Jobs attract premium compensation packages given the short supply of trained and experienced AI engineering talent in India. The current low volume of experienced AI talent in India and the velocity with which talent upskilling is happening will keep the demand and packages high for 2- 3 years to come.”
Due to their specialized skills, demand as well as critical role in driving the AI initiatives within the organizations, several AI related job roles tend to receive premium compensation packages. When compared to the traditional tech roles, the AI related roles command a premium of 40% – 80% for core engineering roles.
