AI for All: NITI Aayog Charts Roadmap to Bridge India’s Income Divide Through Technology

When NITI Aayog unveiled its latest report on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and inclusive growth, it wasn’t just another policy announcement—it was a call to rethink how India defines progress in the digital age. As the world debates whether AI will replace jobs, India’s top policymakers and economists are asking a different question: how can AI raise incomes and restore dignity to work, especially for the 490 million informal workers who power the nation’s economy?

The answer, it seems, lies in collaboration—and intent.

At a high-profile event in New Delhi, Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Vice Chairperson of NITI Aayog, launched the Frontier Tech Hub report titled “AI for Inclusive Societal Development.” Developed in partnership with Deloitte, the report serves as a blueprint for harnessing AI and other frontier technologies to boost livelihoods, wages, and productivity in India’s vast informal sector.

The Untapped Workforce Behind India’s Growth

India’s informal workforce—comprising farmers, construction workers, artisans, delivery partners, and domestic helpers—makes up nearly half of the country’s GDP. Yet, this massive segment remains largely disconnected from formal skilling systems, financial tools, and technology-driven opportunities.

While global AI conversations often circle around job automation and layoffs, NITI Aayog’s latest roadmap flips the narrative: AI, it argues, can be the great equalizer. By enabling better skilling, financial inclusion, and market access, AI could dramatically raise income levels and productivity among informal workers.

But the stakes are high. Without timely intervention, the report warns, the average annual income of informal workers could stagnate at around $6,000 by 2047—less than half of what’s needed for India to achieve high-income nation status, pegged at $14,500. The message is stark: the AI revolution must be inclusive, or it risks leaving millions behind.

Jayant Chaudhary: “Empowering Workers Through AI is a Moral Imperative”

Speaking at the launch, Jayant Chaudhary was emphatic about what’s at stake—not just for the economy, but for India’s social fabric.

“The goal of digital skilling in AI for workers aligns perfectly with our national skilling agenda,” Chaudhary said. “By leveraging AI and frontier technologies, we aim to make learning adaptive, accessible, and demand-driven. Every worker—whether a farmer, artisan, or healthcare aide—deserves the tools to thrive in the digital economy of tomorrow.”

Central to this vision is Mission Digital ShramSetu, proposed under NITI Aayog’s roadmap—a national platform designed to democratize access to AI, blockchain, and immersive learning tools. The mission targets core challenges such as financial insecurity, lack of market access, and digital skill gaps, aiming to empower workers not just with jobs, but with upward mobility and dignity.

B.V.R. Subrahmanyam: “Collaboration is Non-Negotiable”

If Chaudhary’s tone was visionary, NITI Aayog CEO B.V.R. Subrahmanyam’s message was pragmatic—and urgent.

“If we are serious about transforming the lives of India’s 490 million informal workers, collaboration is not optional—it is non-negotiable,” he asserted.

Subrahmanyam emphasized that technology alone cannot bridge the income divide. True transformation, he argued, will require synchronized efforts between government, industry, academia, and civil society. From reducing technology costs and investing in R&D to scaling skilling programs nationwide, every stakeholder must act in concert.

“This mission demands cross-functional action,” he added. “Only through collective intent can we ensure empowerment that is real, lasting, and human-centered—not just another wave of tech adoption.”

Technology as a Wage Multiplier

The Frontier Tech Hub study outlines how AI-powered tools—like intelligent marketplaces, predictive analytics for agriculture, and AI-driven vocational training—can boost wage growth across traditional and gig sectors.

Imagine a farmer using AI to predict crop prices, a construction worker trained via immersive simulations, or an artisan accessing global buyers through an AI-powered platform. These aren’t distant possibilities—they’re the kind of real-world use cases the roadmap envisions under Mission Digital ShramSetu.

The idea is to help workers climb the wage ladder by integrating AI into the national skilling framework, connecting them with better job opportunities, continuous training, and financial services.

This dovetails seamlessly with the government’s Viksit Bharat 2047 vision—to make India a developed, digitally empowered economy through inclusive innovation.

AI for All: A Human-Centered Digital Economy

The report makes one thing clear: AI is not a magic wand. Without deliberate policy design and ecosystem-level investments, the benefits of AI could remain concentrated among a privileged few.

To counter this, the roadmap calls for targeted funding, innovation clusters, and localized skilling programs to ensure that even the most vulnerable workers can access AI-enabled opportunities.

Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog and Chief Architect of the Frontier Tech Hub, summed it up aptly:

“AI will not transform lives on its own—it requires deliberate effort to make these technologies accessible and affordable. This roadmap finally brings the voices of 490 million workers into the AI conversation and lays out a mission-mode approach to turn this promise into reality.”

As India races toward its Viksit Bharat 2047 goal, the vision emerging from NITI Aayog is both ambitious and grounded: technology must serve people, not replace them.

The AI for Inclusive Development roadmap and Mission Digital ShramSetu together mark a national push to merge technological innovation with wage growth, productivity, and social equity.

If executed well, this could be the blueprint for how India turns AI from a tool of automation into a force for empowerment—lifting millions out of low-income cycles and ushering in a more equitable digital economy.

In Subrahmanyam’s words, the task ahead is clear:

“The future of AI must not only be intelligent but also inclusive—creating prosperity that uplifts every worker, every household, and every corner of the economy.”