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In today’s newsletter: 

• Infosys icons reject IT obituary
• Ashwini Vaishnaw meets RMG industry on online gaming ban
• Big Tech’s India hiring defies US tariffs worries

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The Indian IT industry has been declared “dead” many times.

• Yet, each time, it has reinvented itself

At a rare sit-down, Infosys legends Nandan Nilekani, NR Narayana Murthy, and Salil Parekh made it clear they believe the same will happen in the age of artificial intelligence (AI).

Infosys co-founder and chairman Nandan Nilekani brushed off concerns about the sector’s future.

“I think there are many times in the past when such obituaries have been written. So, whenever there's a major technology shift or a major business model shift, people say that," Nilekani said, brushing off worries that AI could make Indian IT irrelevant.

He argued Infosys will master the new tech and leverage it to deepen its role in global enterprises.

• CEO and MD Parekh stressed Infosys’ edge lies in handling large, complex organisations

The company has already deployed 300 AI agents and is investing heavily in cloud and data, he said.

“The best place for technology at scale is really Infosys, is really India,” he said.

Also read: Nandan Nilekani is guiding us: Infosys CEO Salil Parekh strikes confident note on AI leadership 

 The trio's optimism comes even as the sector faces headwinds.

• Growth has slowed, and TCS, the country’s largest software exporter, is set to reduce its workforce by 2% (approximately 12,000 employees) to remain agile in the AI era

Murthy returned to his favourite theme: the ability to learn and adapt.

Tech will keep changing, he said, but human skills such as teamwork, empathy and collaboration will remain indispensable.

“The only constant is change. The most important attribute for every successful professional is what I call learnability," he reminded.

Meanwhile, Nilekani brushed off concerns about keeping up with rapid shifts in technology, underlining that human interaction, human collaboration, and human relations will become even more important.  

Go deeper. Prefer video? Check it out

India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw met online gaming stakeholders today for the first time since the government banned real-money games (RMG) last week. 

The discussions focused on the government’s push to promote e-sports and online social games. Measures to protect users’ funds and support an orderly transition were also discussed.

• All RMG platforms suspended contests and games involving money on their platforms after the legislation got the Parliament's nod on August 22, though they continue to offer free-to-play options

Many companies are now considering pivoting to casual games or expanding their portfolio of free titles in the country.

The meeting with gaming stakeholders comes days after payment companies and banks met with senior officials from the IT Ministry and the Department of Financial Services seeking specific guidelines along with sufficient time to comply with the new online gaming law. 

• The industry also raised concerns around customer refunds, chargebacks, and the treatment of current accounts after the RMG ban

Meanwhile, several real-money gaming companies have started large-scale job cuts as they adjust to the new regulatory landscape.

• Mobile Premier League (MPL) is significantly downsizing its India team. Sources told us that MPL could lay off around 60 to 80% of its India workforce, which currently stands at around 500 to 600 employees
  
  
• Nazara Technologies-backed Baazi Games (Moonshine Technology), which operates online poker platform PokerBaazi, is reducing its workforce by over 200 people, which represents nearly 45% of its employees
  
  
• Games24x7 has also begun layoffs, marking the second round of job cuts in three months at the company

US President Donald Trump may have called India a “dead” economy — but Silicon Valley’s giants are doubling down.

The Facebook (Meta), Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix and Google (Alphabet) cohort, a.k.a FAAMNG,  in India added 30,000 new employees in the last 12 months, according to data from Xpheno.

• This was a record annual high in three years
  
  
• Between August 2024 and August 2025, net new additions by FAAMNG companies grew by over 30%

Meanwhile, nearly all of them have announced significant expansion plans in India in 2025, securing prime office spaces and planning tech talent hiring.

While industry experts expect near-term softness in hiring as tech companies brace for the impact of Trump’s 50% tariffs on Indian imports, they remain bullish on the long-term outlook.

“India remains central to their long-term strategy, particularly for building AI, cloud, and security capabilities at scale and cost efficiency,” said Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital.

• Hiring is concentrated in AI, cloud, cybersecurity and product engineering
  
  
• Routine and support roles remain slow

Dig deeper

• OpenAI is reportedly in talks with local partners to establish a large-scale data centre in India with a planned capacity of at least one gigawatt.
  
  
•  Abu Dhabi-backed technology group G42 aims to diversify chip suppliers beyond Nvidia for the UAE-US AI campus.

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