India risks building a technology workforce that is merely AI-reliant rather than truly AI-native if the industry and academia fail to preserve deep engineering expertise, IT industry body Nasscom has warned.
While over 90 per cent of the country's early-career tech professionals are already adopting artificial intelligence, the apex industry body cautioned that the decline of routine coding work must not lead to a drop in fundamental technical skills.
“India is uniquely positioned to emerge as a global hub for AI-native technology talent.
It is important to keep in mind that AI skills penetration is not the same as being AI-native...India risks scaling a workforce that is AI-reliant rather than AI-native.
"Academia must strengthen fundamentals, while industry must redesign onboarding and mentorship to ensure that the decline of routine work does not lead to a decline in deep engineering expertise,” Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Nasscom, said.
