NITI Aayog Charts Bold Roadmap to Create 4 Million Jobs in the New AI Economy

When the world talks about Artificial Intelligence (AI) as the next big disruptor, India seems determined to make it the next big opportunity. In a landmark move aimed at turning technological change into job creation, NITI Aayog has unveiled its much-anticipated report, “Roadmap for Job Creation in the AI Economy” — a strategic blueprint designed to transform India into the global hub for AI-driven talent.

Released in New Delhi by B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog, the report lays out an ambitious yet actionable vision: to create up to 4 million new jobs over the next five years through AI-led transformation, reskilling, and innovation.

Jobs in AI Economy

The announcement marks a defining moment in India’s journey to balance automation’s disruptive potential with the promise of human-centric, technology-driven growth.

Speaking at the launch, Subrahmanyam underlined that India’s greatest strength lies in its people — and that this demographic dividend could soon become its greatest competitive advantage.

“India’s strength lies in its people. With over 9 million technology and CX professionals and the world’s largest pool of young digital talent, we have both the scale and ambition. What we need now is urgency, vision, and coordination,” he said.

The NITI Aayog chief emphasized that the roadmap is not just about mitigating the risks of automation — it’s about converting them into a massive opportunity for AI-led job creation and digital empowerment.

In his words, the time to act is now.

The tone of the report is clear: AI will redefine jobs, not just replace them. But whether this transformation leads to mass job loss or mass job creation depends on how quickly India moves to prepare its workforce.

Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog and one of the key contributors to the report, put it succinctly:

“The difference between job loss and job creation depends squarely on the choices we make now. This roadmap provides a clear, actionable path to ensure India becomes the global epicentre of AI talent by 2035.”

The roadmap estimates that while routine roles like QA engineers and L1 support agents may see disruptions by 2031, entirely new job categories — such as AI trainers, Ethical AI specialists, and AI DevOps engineers — will emerge in their place.

The Three Pillars of AI Job Creation

At the heart of NITI Aayog’s AI job creation vision are three foundational pillars designed to prepare India’s workforce for a digital-first future:

1. AI in Education – Introducing AI literacy as a core skill across schools, universities, and vocational institutes. The idea is to make AI learning as fundamental as mathematics or computer science, preparing future-ready learners from the ground up.

2. Reskilling at Scale – Establishing a National Reskilling Engine to train millions of professionals in high-value, AI-augmented roles. From data annotators to sentiment analysts, from machine learning operations (MLOps) experts to AI ethics auditors — this initiative aims to reskill India’s vast workforce for a rapidly evolving job market.

3. Global AI Talent Magnet – Positioning India as the world’s top destination for AI talent, by not only retaining homegrown professionals but also attracting international experts and researchers through collaborative partnerships, open innovation platforms, and global exchange programs.

Together, these pillars form the foundation of a National AI Talent Mission — a coordinated, mission-mode initiative aligned with the broader India AI Mission.

NITI Aayog’s report underscores a message that industry leaders have long echoed — no single entity can build the AI workforce of the future alone.

The roadmap calls for a deep partnership between government, academia, and industry, supported by strong digital infrastructure, access to compute resources, and data-driven innovation ecosystems.

By connecting India’s trained professionals with opportunities in AI research, development, and entrepreneurship, the roadmap envisions an economy where Indian talent doesn’t just participate in the global AI revolution — it leads it.

Industry Backing and Vision 2047 Alignment

The roadmap has been developed by the NITI Frontier Tech Hub in collaboration with NASSCOM and Boston Consulting Group (BCG), drawing on insights from an Expert Council that includes leaders from IBM, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, LTIMindtree, and Teleperformance, among others.

The report doesn’t just focus on immediate job creation — it sets out a long-term vision to position India as a trusted global AI partner by 2035.

At the launch event, industry leaders and policymakers voiced strong support, calling the roadmap a timely intervention in India’s journey towards “Viksit Bharat 2047”, where frontier technologies like AI, robotics, and data science will define the country’s growth story.

The Frontier Tech Hub: Driving India’s Innovation Engine

The NITI Frontier Tech Hub — which led the development of the roadmap — serves as an “action tank” within the Aayog, working with over 100 experts from government, academia, and industry.

Its goal: to design a 10-year roadmap across 20+ sectors, leveraging frontier technologies to accelerate India’s transformation into a prosperous, resilient, and tech-driven nation.

Through a blend of urgency, collaboration, and innovation, the Hub aims to lay the foundation for an India where AI creates not just jobs, but purpose — and not just growth, but opportunity for all.

As the world stands at the cusp of an AI revolution, India’s vision is clear — to turn every byte of data, every algorithm, and every digital opportunity into engines of employment and inclusion.

The “Roadmap for Job Creation in the AI Economy” isn’t just another policy document — it’s a statement of intent. It signals India’s readiness to not just adapt to the AI age, but to lead it.

If executed with the same urgency and coordination that NITI Aayog calls for, this could well be the blueprint that turns India’s demographic dividend into the world’s most powerful AI workforce advantage.