NITI Aayog Unveils 10-Year AI Roadmap to Transform India into a $1 Trillion Tech Services Powerhouse

As artificial intelligence begins to redefine industries across the world, countries are racing not just to adopt it—but to lead it. For India, long known as the world’s back office and technology services powerhouse, the moment calls for reinvention. And now, the blueprint for that reinvention is here.

In a decisive move to future-proof India’s technology ecosystem, NITI Aayog’s Frontier Tech Hub has unveiled a sweeping 10-year roadmap titled “Technology Services – Reimagination Ahead.” The ambition is bold and clear: scale India’s $265 billion technology services sector to $750–850 billion by 2035, and position the country as a global leader in AI-driven technology services, aligned with the larger vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.

A Structural Shift: AI as the Turning Point

The report does not treat artificial intelligence as just another emerging tool. Instead, it describes AI as a structural transformation for the technology services industry.

For decades, India’s global advantage has rested on labour-arbitrage models—cost-efficient talent delivering global services at scale. But the AI era is changing the rules. The future, the report says, lies in IP-led, outcome-oriented, and platform-driven delivery systems.

In simple terms, India must move from being the world’s service provider to becoming the world’s builder of AI-native systems.

To unlock this transition, the roadmap identifies five priority growth levers:

1. Agentic AI

2. Software & Products

3. Digital Infrastructure

4. Innovation-led Engineering

5. India-for-India solutions

These levers aim to shift the industry’s focus from manpower-driven growth to innovation-led scale. The roadmap calls for coordinated action between government and industry—accelerated enterprise AI adoption, scaled investments in IP and R&D, workforce reskilling at a national level, and predictable regulations that support global market access.

The message is clear: incremental change will not be enough. Reinvention is essential.

Launching the roadmap, Piyush Goyal urged India’s technology ecosystem to think even bigger.

He called on the sector to aim for a $1 trillion opportunity by 2035, emphasizing that continuous reinvention will define success in an era shaped by AI, data centres, and clean energy.

One of the most striking proposals was a target of at least 10 GW of data centre capacity by 2030, positioning India as a global hub for AI-driven services.

Goyal highlighted the country’s foundational strengths:

• Nearly one billion internet users

• Among the world’s highest per-capita data consumption

• Affordable data pricing

• Rapid 5G rollout and upcoming 6G capabilities

Together, these create what he described as a powerful base for long-term digital expansion.

But infrastructure remains key.

Power, Clean Energy and Competitive Advantage

India’s digital ambitions require reliable, affordable, and sustainable power. Goyal underlined several infrastructure milestones:

• A unified national power grid

• 500 GW installed power capacity

• 250 GW of clean energy within that mix

• 24-hour clean energy available at under ₹6 per kWh

For data centres and AI infrastructure—both energy-intensive sectors—this cost competitiveness could become a major differentiator globally.

The Budget 2026–27 announcements were also highlighted, particularly long-term tax benefits up to 2047 for select investments, aimed at boosting FDI, foreign exchange inflows, and job creation—especially in data centre ecosystems.

Further strategic initiatives in:

• Nuclear power

• Battery storage

• Pumped hydro

• Green hydrogen

• Green ammonia

are expected to strengthen India’s edge in powering large-scale AI infrastructure sustainably.

AI Adoption, But With Guardrails

While celebrating AI’s potential, Goyal also cautioned against unchecked adoption. Cybersecurity, human validation, and data integrity, he stressed, must remain central.

He called for widespread AI education among business leaders and policymakers, ensuring that adoption is both responsible and informed.

To maintain momentum, he proposed structured monthly engagements between government ministries and industry bodies such as NASSCOM, enabling continuous dialogue and faster resolution of emerging challenges.

Government and Industry: Mission Mode Collaboration

The roadmap emphasizes that AI leadership cannot be achieved in silos.

S Krishnan, Secretary at Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, said India is pursuing a full-stack, impact-driven AI strategy—covering energy, infrastructure, semiconductors, models, and applications.

Key enablers include:

• Semiconductor Mission 2.0

• Cloud tax incentives

• Education-to-employment linkages

• Safe-harbour thresholds

Together, these aim to make India the world’s AI-native technology architect.

Meanwhile, B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, CEO of NITI Aayog, described AI as a “generational opportunity” to create new value pools and upgrade skills at scale.

Adding to that perspective, Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow at NITI Aayog, said the AI era does not signal the end of India’s tech services story—it marks the birth of a new operating model built around intelligent agents, platforms, and human judgment.

The Frontier Tech Hub: An Action Tank for Viksit Bharat

At the centre of this push is the NITI Frontier Tech Hub, positioned as an “action tank” for Viksit Bharat.

Working with more than 100 experts across government, industry, and academia, the Hub is developing 10-year roadmaps across over 20 sectors. The aim: anticipate mega-technology shifts and prepare India for economic expansion, societal impact, and strategic resilience.

With the release of “Technology Services – Reimagination Ahead,” India is sending a strong signal to the global market.

This is not just about scaling revenues.

It is about transitioning from a services-led powerhouse to an AI-powered technology architect for the world—backed by digital scale, clean energy, policy reform, and coordinated public-private action.

The coming decade will determine whether India merely adapts to the AI revolution—or leads it.

If this roadmap delivers on its promise, 2035 may mark not just the expansion of a sector, but the redefinition of India’s global technology identity.