By 2025, transformation was a core pillar of the corporate strategy. The test was simple did these initiatives produce business value, and could the organisation sustain that change over time? At the centre of this shift is India’s technology talent, which is increasingly moving from execution to shaping the digital agenda.
From size to value: India’s tech manpower transformation
India’s technology industry is forecast to cross USD 315 billion in FY26 with direct employment close to six million and a net addition of about 135,000 jobs. Many of today’s hiring trends are driven by the need for specialised skills and capabilities to support changing business needs. Businesses are prioritising artificial intelligence (AI), data engineering, cybersecurity, and platform management over headcount growth, part of a broader move from scale-led growth to value-driven innovation.
In the year, over two million professionals were trained in artificial intelligence, including 200,000 – 300,000 with advanced artificial intelligence skills, Nasscom’s latest strategic review says. So, India’s workforce is growing in numbers and also becoming increasingly AI-skilled. The industry is also witnessing an inflow of talent with AI proficiency, with nearly 70 percent of the new technology talent today being AI-savvy and about 23 percent being experts, according to NASSCOM benchmarks.
Global Capability Centres as innovation engines, not delivery centres
Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India are at the forefront of this evolution. According to the Nasscom–Zinnov GCC Landscape Report 2026, India now hosts 2,117 GCCs generating $98.4 billion in annual revenue, with approximately 70 per cent of centres having already defined an AI roadmap. The sector has emerged as one of the world’s leading markets for AI hiring globally, employing over 120,000 AI and machine learning professionals across 185 dedicated AI Centres of Excellence.
A PwC India–FICCI study further reveals that 72 per cent of GCCs need to reskill or upskill more than 40 per cent of their workforce to maximise AI value, with most centres currently allocating 3–5 per cent of operating budgets to skilling — a figure 94 per cent of leaders believe should rise to at least 6 per cent.
Outside the metros, smaller cities and towns are solidifying their role as multi-sector innovation clusters, supported by strong academic linkages and state-level GCC policies, with an emphasis on outcome-based talent metrics over traditional KPIs.
AI-native talent: the new differentiator
AI-native learning is a strategic imperative. AI-native learning programmes must move beyond tool training to building capabilities for outcome ownership. The focus should instead be on business-context learning, where AI is taught through enterprise scenarios that allow talent to apply judgment and translate insights into measurable impact.
This reflects a wider trend in the market: maturity of AI is increasingly being defined in terms of ability to provide governed, scalable deployments, and demonstrate measurable efficiency gains. Companies are transitioning from experimentation to enterprise-wide integration, operational scale and reliable execution. The learning programs are built to help professionals translate AI capabilities into real business impact, and to support this transition by blending technical training with business-context learning. With a strong pool of digital-savvy talent and as AI adoption grows in India, it is well positioned to lead the next phase of AI as organizations move from experimentation to enterprise deployment.
Security, governance and the trinity of resilience
As cloud and AI adoption accelerate, cybersecurity, resilience and governance are becoming cornerstones of digital transformation. Resilient IT architecture must be agile, scalable, recoverable and comprehensive. As a result, Zero Trust frameworks, AI-powered threat detection and robust incident response plans are now essential.
This is where India’s talent advantage becomes more pronounced. The ability to design, deploy, secure, and govern scalable AI and cloud solutions remains a globally sought-after capability.
The road ahead: India as a strategic hub
NASSCOM estimates that by 2026, the industry demand for AI-ready professionals will exceed one million. This positions India as a hub for digital and AI-led transformation. This trajectory is underpinned by rapid growth of GCCs and domain expertise in AI/ML, data engineering, and niche skills.
Those that win in digital transformation in 2026 will be those good at execution, where AI, cloud, data, and people work together as one trustworthy engine. India’s technology talent, with its growing AI-native capabilities and global outlook, is uniquely positioned to drive this outcome. The focus now must be on building workforces with advanced technical expertise, change leadership, business acumen, and deep digital fluency.
India is moving beyond participation in global digital transformation to playing a defining role in shaping its future. Its deep technology talent is helping set the global digital agenda while its growing AI-native talent is emerging as the differentiator. At the same time, India’s GCCs are driving innovation at scale, further strengthening its position as a global hub for digital transformation.
