States like Karnataka, Telangana, TN, Maharashtra must drive AI talent shift, says Vaishnaw

The minister pointed to the Future Skills programme launched couple of years ago as part of the IndiaAI Mission, under which about 8 lakh professionals have already been upskilled.

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on February 27 said state governments must play a central role in preparing India’s workforce for the transition into being artificial intelligence-ready by reorienting college education towards AI.

Addressing concerns around job disruption at News18 Rising Bharat Summit, Vaishnaw said India’s strength lay in its IT services sector’s ability to design trusted enterprise solutions. However, he noted that this would require large scale reskilling.

“This is a once-in-a-generation transition. We must take every action proactively,” he said.

Vaishnaw said state governments such as Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra — which host large IT hubs — would have to work closely with industry and the Centre to redesign curricula and training systems.

“They will have to put in a lot of effort to make sure that their colleges are reoriented towards AI-based IT solutions,” he said.

The Centre and states will work with industry to ensure this transition is smooth, he added.

“I am personally discussing with industry leaders and whatever support they need, we will provide. The responsibility will have to be taken by the IT industry, and the state governments will take a large part of this work,” Vaishnaw said.

The minister pointed to the Future Skills programme launched couple of years ago as part of the IndiaAI Mission, under which about 8 lakh professionals have already been upskilled.

“But that number now has to be scaled up much more significantly, and the talent pipeline has to start getting created from the colleges onwards,” he said.