BENGALURU: India’s workforce in artificial intelligence is expected to double by 2027 as the country steps up efforts to train millions in digital skills, Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro, said at the India AI Summit.
Speaking about the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, Premji said around 650,000 professionals in India currently work in AI-related roles. “This number will double by 2027,” he said, pointing to both industry demand and government-backed programmes to train 10 million young people in AI skills.
“Once in a generation, a technology emerges that doesn't just change what we can do, it truly changes what we must do. AI for me is certainly that technology,” Premji said. He added that how India responds in the coming years will shape the country’s economic future and its ability to solve problems for over a billion people.
From possibility to practical use
Premji said the global conversation around AI has moved beyond theory. “We are now at an inflexion point. The conversation has fundamentally shifted from possibility to practicality, from experimentation to adoption, and from pilots to scaled impact,” he said.
He said India can become one of the most important places in the world for applying AI in real-world conditions. Systems in India must work across multiple languages, urban and rural areas, and among people with different levels of access to technology.
AI is already being used on the ground. In states such as Karnataka, Maharashtra and Punjab, farmers are using AI systems trained on satellite images and crop data to detect pests early. In some areas, crop losses have fallen by nearly 25%.
Small traders in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh are using AI tools to catalogue products, translate descriptions and manage deliveries, helping them reach wider markets.
In healthcare, Premji said community health workers carry portable X-ray devices to homes, where AI analyses images to detect signs of tuberculosis.
“The dividing line will not be human versus machine. It will truly be between those who adapt and those who hesitate to adapt,” he said.