How AI Is Changing IT Jobs in India: What the Evidence Says

Last updated: 8 October 2026 · By the Asuraa Team

Quick answer: AI is reshaping IT jobs in India rather than eliminating them wholesale, based on evidence so far. An ICRIER study of 650 IT firms (November 2025-January 2026) found productivity gains outnumbered losses 3.5 to 1, with only a modest moderation in entry-level hiring. Routine coding, QA and delivery work is most exposed, while AI-skilled roles command up to a 40% pay premium, per EY (February 2026).

Key takeaways

• An ICRIER study of 650 Indian IT firms found those reporting AI-driven productivity gains outnumbered those reporting losses by 3.5 to 1.
• A September 2026 Zinnov-Dell whitepaper estimated about 55% of routine GCC work, such as QA and standard coding, is exposed to AI-led displacement.
• Nearly 70% of GCCs remained at the AI pilot stage, according to the same Zinnov-Dell whitepaper.
• EY's February 2026 Future of Pay report found AI, GenAI and machine learning roles command up to a 40% pay premium in India.
• India's AI talent demand was estimated at 6 to 6.5 lakh people against a pool of about 4.2 lakh, per a July 2026 Business Standard report.

"Will AI take IT jobs in India?" is one of the most searched career questions of the last two years. The honest answer from the evidence so far is more specific than either the doom or the hype: AI is changing which IT tasks get done by people, slowing some kinds of entry-level hiring, and creating demand and pay premiums for new skills. This guide sticks to named studies and dated reporting.

Is AI reducing IT jobs in India?

So far, the evidence points to AI reshaping IT jobs more than eliminating them across the board, with the clearest pressure on routine tasks and some entry-level hiring. An ICRIER study of 650 IT firms in 10 Indian cities, conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 and supported by OpenAI, found firms reporting productivity gains from AI outnumbered those reporting losses by 3.5 to 1, and observed only a modest moderation in entry-level hiring, according to Business Standard.

At the same time, parts of IT hiring have been weak. Active tech job openings in India were 1,03,000 in January 2026, down 24% year-on-year, with entry-level openings down 18%, according to Xpheno data reported by Business Standard. That decline reflects several forces, including weak deal flow at IT services firms, so it should not be attributed to AI alone.

Which IT jobs are most exposed to AI?

Routine, well-specified work is most exposed: standard coding, manual testing and QA, and repetitive delivery tasks. The Zinnov-Dell India GCC 2030 whitepaper, published in September 2026, estimated that about 55% of routine GCC work, such as QA, standard coding and routine delivery, is exposed to AI-led displacement (Zinnov).

The ICRIER study found software developers and database administrators among the roles most commonly seen as exposed to AI, but it also found that occupations with the highest generative AI exposure, including software developers, showed the highest growth in demand (Business Standard). Exposure, in other words, does not automatically mean fewer jobs; it often means the job changes.

Roles where the core value is judgement, context and accountability are less exposed:

• System design and architecture
• Debugging complex production issues
• Security and risk work
• Client-facing solutioning and requirements analysis
• Domain-heavy roles in banking, healthcare, manufacturing and telecom

If you are in or considering testing, our guide to manual testing vs development careers discusses how to move towards automation and quality engineering.

Are Indian IT companies hiring fewer freshers because of AI?

Indian IT companies are hiring freshers more selectively, and AI is one of the reasons they cite, alongside slower growth. In January 2026, Wipro's chief HR officer described campus recruitment as muted and said overall hiring had slowed as the company focused on AI-led projects, as reported by Outlook Business. TCS laid off 12,000 employees in July 2025 and has reduced overall campus hiring while increasing the share of specialised hires, according to Business Standard reports in May 2026 and July 2026.

Survey data points the same way. TeamLease EdTech found IT fresher hiring intent fell to 76% for July to December 2026, from 81% in the first half, even as overall fresher hiring intent rose (Business Standard). Our analysis of IT hiring trends in India for 2026 tracks these indicators together.

What new IT jobs is AI creating in India?

AI is creating roles that sit between models and real business systems. A July 2026 Business Standard report listed forward deployed engineers, agentic AI engineers, GenAI solution architects and AI product owners among the roles IT companies are creating, and named AI-adjacent skills such as prompt design, workflow automation, AI output quality assessment, model evaluation and building basic agents or copilots (Business Standard).

Demand for these skills outstrips supply. The same report cited an estimated AI talent demand of 6 to 6.5 lakh in India against a pool of about 4.2 lakh. In January 2026, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw cited 33% growth in hiring of AI-ready talent (Business Standard). Explore these paths in our guides to generative AI jobs in India and the AI engineer roadmap.

Does AI change how much IT professionals are paid?

Yes, it is widening the gap between generic and specialised roles. EY's Future of Pay report (February 2026) found emerging tech roles in AI, GenAI, ML and engineering command up to a 40% premium, and that 45 to 50% of organisations are moving towards skill-based pay (Business Standard). On campus, specialised-skill hiring was expected to rise from about 30 to 40% of intake to 45 to 55% in FY27, with HCLTech saying it would pay niche-skilled "elite engineers" roughly three to four times traditional engineering salaries (Business Standard).

Is AI affecting GCC jobs differently from IT services jobs?

Yes, in some ways. GCCs build and run technology for their own parent companies, so AI adoption there is tied to the parent's business priorities rather than to client contracts. The Zinnov-Dell whitepaper framed the challenge for GCCs as moving from AI pilots to production, noting that nearly 70% were still at the pilot stage in 2026 (Zinnov).

For IT services companies, AI also affects pricing and deal structures, because clients expect productivity gains to show up as lower costs. That puts pressure on headcount-based models and helps explain why services firms are hiring fewer generalist freshers and more specialists, while GCCs have continued to add tech openings. Our comparison of service-based vs GCC jobs looks at what this means for career choices.

What do most guides on AI and IT jobs get wrong?

Most guides either predict mass job losses or dismiss the change entirely. The evidence supports neither. A useful correction is to separate three different effects:

1. Task automation. Some tasks within a job are done faster or by AI. This is widespread and already visible.
2. Hiring mix changes. Companies hire fewer people for routine work and more for specialised roles. This is also visible in 2026 campus data.
3. Net job loss across the sector. This is much harder to prove, because IT hiring is also driven by global demand, deal cycles and interest rates.

Another common error is treating "exposure" scores as forecasts. A role highly exposed to AI may grow if AI makes the work more valuable, as the ICRIER finding on software developers suggests. Finally, AI adoption is slower than headlines imply: the Zinnov-Dell paper found nearly 70% of GCCs still at the pilot stage (Zinnov).

How should IT professionals and freshers prepare for AI?

Use AI tools daily in your own work, and build skills that AI makes more valuable rather than less. A practical plan:

1. Strengthen fundamentals: data structures, databases, networking, and one language in depth.
2. Use AI coding and testing tools on real projects, and learn to review and correct their output.
3. Add one AI-adjacent skill such as model evaluation, retrieval-augmented generation, or workflow automation.
4. Develop domain knowledge in an industry you want to work in.
5. Document outcomes, not just tools, on your resume and in interviews.

Our guide on how to learn generative AI is a good next step.

FAQ

Will AI take away IT jobs in India?

The evidence so far shows AI reshaping IT jobs more than removing them wholesale. An ICRIER study of 650 IT firms found productivity gains outnumbered losses 3.5 to 1 and only a modest moderation in entry-level hiring. Routine tasks such as standard coding and QA are most exposed, while demand and pay are rising for AI, cloud, data and security skills.

Which IT jobs are most at risk from AI?

Roles dominated by routine, well-specified tasks are most exposed, such as manual testing, standard coding and repetitive delivery work. A September 2026 Zinnov-Dell whitepaper estimated about 55% of routine GCC work is exposed to AI-led displacement. Roles built on judgement, such as system design, complex debugging, security and domain-heavy solutioning, are less exposed.

Are IT companies hiring fewer freshers because of AI?

Partly. Wipro's HR head described campus hiring as muted in January 2026 and linked slower hiring to a focus on AI-led projects. TCS has reduced overall campus hiring while increasing specialised hires. TeamLease EdTech found IT fresher hiring intent fell to 76% for the second half of 2026, from 81%. Slower deal flow is also a major factor.

What new jobs is AI creating in Indian IT?

A July 2026 Business Standard report listed forward deployed engineers, agentic AI engineers, GenAI solution architects and AI product owners among new roles. Employers also want skills such as prompt design, workflow automation, model evaluation and building basic AI agents. India's AI talent demand was estimated at 6 to 6.5 lakh against a pool of about 4.2 lakh.

Do AI skills lead to higher pay in IT?

Yes. EY's Future of Pay report, published in February 2026, found that emerging tech roles in AI, generative AI, machine learning and engineering command up to a 40% premium in India. HCLTech has said it will pay niche-skilled engineers roughly three to four times traditional engineering salaries, reflecting the wider shift towards skill-based pay.

How can freshers stay relevant as AI changes IT jobs?

Build strong fundamentals in programming, databases and systems, use AI coding and testing tools on real projects, and learn to review their output critically. Add one AI-adjacent skill such as model evaluation or retrieval-augmented generation, and develop knowledge of an industry. Present outcomes from projects on your resume, not just the tools you used.

Final thoughts

AI is raising the bar for IT work in India rather than closing the door, and the people who learn to use it well are being paid more. If you want guidance on adapting your own career, talk to an experienced professional through Asuraa Mentors.