India's AI ambitions hinge on workforce re-skilling: IBM India head

India will need a coordinated push across government, companies and academia on skilling and policy if it wants to become an AI powerhouse, an IBM executive said, as the technology threatens the country's position as a global services hub.

IBM India head Sandip Patel told Reuters on ‌Monday that ⁠the South ⁠Asian nation's large young workforce could give it an advantage in the global race to adopt and capitalise on the technology, which companies say can improve productivity.

"That demographic ​dividend, that's sitting here, unleashing that is a phenomenal opportunity," Patel said. "You will be at a 350 million AI-trained workforce that can be ​deployed not just here, but can be doing ⁠work around ‌the world."


More than half of India's population of around ​1.4 billion ​is under 30, giving the world's most populous nation ⁠a vast young workforce. The country also produces millions ​of engineers every year who now face a ​threat from AI tools that can automate tasks like coding.

IBM, which in December promised to skill 5 million people in India on AI, cybersecurity and quantum computing by 2030, said about 30% of the country's available technology workforce has the AI skills needed by businesses. The company ‌is working with the government on skilling initiatives.

Patel also said India would need stronger intellectual property protections to become a force in creating technology that ⁠could be monetised, adding companies need greater assurance that IP developed here would hold up and remain commercially viable across borders.

IBM has been expanding ​into tier-two cities near its hiring and client bases, helping it tap talent beyond India's saturated tech hubs, Patel said.

The company's presence in the southern city of Kochi has grown to nearly 4,000 employees within two years, and it recently expanded into Lucknow.