Future Jobs in India after AI revolution

 Can India turn AI threat into its next IT boom?

Fear of machines taking away jobs is all too familiar it first created panic when industrial revolution hit then came the digital age but the rapid evolution of AI poses the possibility of job losses on a scale and form not seen before that's why India must remember how it educate set up skills it's youth to catch up. 

For more than 200 years each way of new technology and innovation has carried with it a familiar fear that machines would take away peoples lively hood and this panic gave a sort of fear in the minds that will AI take the jobs in the country. 

McKinsey report estimates that by 2030 automation could replace up to 30% of hours work in the US forcing 12 million workers to shift roles .The international labour organisation warns the impact could be even more severe in India with nearly 70% of existing jobs at high risk from AI and automation.

Now with robotics in AI  even non routine manual tasks such as ware house picking surgery assistance and food preparation face the risk of being automated. 

But the situation is not really as grim as it may sound if history is any guide while many occupations will require people to work along side technology AI and robotics are likely to add net jobs. American economist David Autor has for long argued that tech and innovation have led to protectivity growth ,directly augmenting employment activity growth in one sector generates large positive spillovers to employment growth elsewhere in the economy. 

For a developing country like India the impact of AI will depend on how well we equip our students and the work force through skillinh and upskilling and making them job ready ,and to how strongly we invest in research and development. 

We must revamp are skilling programs with a forward looking lens aligning to jobs of the future . Many semi skilled roles will sustain and grow be it in frontline sales, relationship managers or after -sales support in banking, financial services and insurance, retail and telecom due to our cultural preferences for trust and personal interaction. 

These can absorb large sections of young educated workers. Similarly delivery and logistic roles in quick commerce will expnd offering opportunities for low skilled workers where machines cannot easily replace humans. With India's tourism and hospitality sector set to grow demand will rise for frontline staff, travel  consultants ,chef ,guides and wildlife experts, creating strong need for skilled and semi skilled workers at the same time. AI and automation will reshape employment in finance ,routine processes  like loan approvals will be automated creating demand for specialist in AI training analytics and cyber risk .  In manufacturing, repetitive assembly jobs will  decline, while technical roles in robotics supervision maintenance and monitoring will rise. New roles are expected to emege in data and artificial intelligence engineering cloud computing and product development that will need highly skilled workers and we need to prepare. 

The government must strengthen apprenticeship programs to meet the needs for a changing it economy .So far India's apprenticeship model has struggle to bridge academia and industry .With training focused largely on traditional trades like fitter and welders which focus should be on courses in AI automation ,renewable energy ,tourism and so on. Even short term courses 6 months in using computers of skills like communication problem solving and interpersonal skills can cater  to demand in retail ,BFSI and telcom sectors. The revamped hub and spoke ITI model announced in 2024-25 budget under the national scheme for ITI upgradation could fill this gap by upgrading curriculum and training with  its success however depend on effective execution and past ITI reforms efforts at both Central state level have delivered that impact secondly Indian is to put emphasis on research and development the future of jobs will be shape not just by who can use technology but by who can create and lead it.