STEM, scale and structure: IT secretary points to India’s built-in buffer against AI job losses

Last updated:December 25, 2025, 6:58 pm IST

Recognizing that AI is the first technology to directly challenge knowledge workers, the government’s focus remains firmly on upskilling and reskilling.

Krishnan emphasized that the real economic impact will come from the wide-scale deployment of AI in productive sectors, which will require a huge workforce capable of managing these new systems. (Symbolic Image/Getty)

India’s IT Secretary S Krishnan has provided a reassuring outlook on its impact Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the domestic labor market. Speaking to news agency PTI, he said India faces significantly lower risk of AI-driven disruption in cognitive and white-collar jobs compared to Western economies. Krishnan attributed this flexibility to the unique structural composition of the Indian workforce and the nature of its professional landscape.

‘White collar’ ratio argument

Krishnan pointed out that the proportion of white-collar roles in India’s overall workforce is much lower than in the West. While Western economies are overwhelmingly dominated by knowledge workers, whose roles involve the very “cognitive tasks” – reasoning, problem-solving and data synthesis – at which AI excels, India’s broader economy remains diversified across manufacturing, agriculture and services. As a result, even if AI targets mental rather than physical labor, the Indian economy’s “total exposure” to this specific disruption is naturally influenced by its demographic and occupational diversity.

STEM dominance as a competitive edge

An important factor in Krishnan’s optimistic outlook is India’s dominance in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. He argued that most white-collar jobs in India are technical in nature, which paradoxically puts these workers in a better position to utilize AI rather than be replaced by AI. Instead of merely consuming AI outputs, the Indian workforce is increasingly involved in building and deploying sector-specific AI applications. This shift from generic models to “purpose-built” equipment for industries such as healthcare and agriculture is expected to create a “Y2K-like” moment for the Indian IT sector, leading to increased demand for trained professionals.

Man and ‘hallucinations’ in the loop

The IT Secretary also addressed the current limitations of generative AI, particularly the issue of AI hallucinations – where models confidently present false information as fact. Krishnan said that as long as these systems remain prone to error, the need for a “human in the loop” to oversee, verify and curate AI outputs will persist for a very long time. This need for human oversight ensures that cognitive jobs will evolve into supervisory roles rather than disappear altogether.

The way forward: upskilling rather than automation

Recognizing that AI is the first technology to directly challenge knowledge workers, the government’s focus remains firmly on upskilling and reskilling. Krishnan emphasized that the real economic impact will come from the wide-scale deployment of AI in productive sectors, which will require a huge workforce capable of managing these new systems. By focusing on “frugal innovation” and an India-specific foundation model, the country aims to transform potential disruption into a tool for social well-being and economic prosperity.

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