Artificial intelligence will accelerate the growth of India’s technology industry rather than threaten jobs, NASSCOM chairman Srikanth Velamakanni said on Sunday, even as the sector grapples with slower hiring and global uncertainties.
Velamakanni, who has taken over the industry body at a time of geopolitical turbulence and rapid AI-led disruption, asserted that the technology sector remains on a strong growth trajectory and will continue to generate employment in the long term.
“AI is going to accelerate India's tech industry. It's not going to be a threat to our tech industry. That is the most important thing,” he said, adding that the sector has a “very bright future”.
His remarks come amid signs of a hiring slowdown across major IT firms. Tata Consultancy Services recently indicated plans to hire around 25,000 freshers in FY27, down from 44,000 in the previous financial year, while several other firms have reported flat or declining headcount.
Velamakanni acknowledged the slowdown, describing it as “the elephant in the room”, and attributed it to lower-than-expected growth as well as productivity gains driven by AI.
“We know that the pace of hiring has decreased. There is no question about that. Part of that is because growth has been lower than expected. In addition, there is compression coming from various kinds of AI technologies, which are making it easier to do the same work with fewer human hours,” he said.
However, he argued that the broader impact of AI would be expansionary rather than contractionary. As enterprises increasingly adopt AI to transform workflows and processes, demand for technology solutions — and skilled talent — is expected to rise sharply.
Also read: India’s tech revenue to hit $315 bn: Nasscom
“That multi-trillion dollar opportunity, as it scales up, even though tech per se will become cheaper, the number of things that we need in tech will dramatically expand,” he said, adding that the sector could witness a “100x expansion” despite efficiency gains.
According to NASSCOM estimates, the Indian technology industry is expected to approach the USD 300 billion revenue milestone in FY26, up from about USD 282 billion in FY25, signalling continued momentum despite short-term headwinds.
Velamakanni also flagged geopolitical tensions as a key external risk, noting that uncertainty often delays decision-making by global clients and impacts demand cycles.
“When there's uncertainty, people freeze and they delay decision-making. We'll see delayed decision-making across the board with the continued geopolitical uncertainty,” he said, adding that the industry must focus on building resilience in supply chains and operations.
Looking ahead, he emphasised the need to restore growth momentum in revenue and profitability while positioning India as a global leader in AI-driven transformation.
“The world needs to understand that the tech industry in India is actually at a point of inflection where it will go to a completely new level with AI,” he said, expressing confidence that hiring will pick up as growth stabilises.
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