AI is now the ‘foundational operating system’: Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer confined to experimental pilots or niche deployments, it is rapidly becoming the “foundational operating system for industries,” fundamentally reshaping how businesses operate, according to Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar.

“As we move through 2026, AI is becoming the foundational operating system for industries across,” Nambiar told Business Today in an interview. “This is no longer a niche technology project. It is the core infrastructure through which decisions are made, work is executed and value is delivered.”

Nasscom’s Annual Strategic Review 2026 estimates India’s AI revenue at $10–12 billion, with the ‘Human + AI’ model emerging as the dominant operating paradigm across the country’s $315 billion tech industry.  

Beyond traditional roles such as data scientists, companies are now actively hiring for emerging positions that did not exist even a few years ago, according to Nambiar.

“This transition is giving rise to job roles that did not exist even three years ago, moving beyond just coding AI to governing, teaching, and working with it,” Nambiar told Business Today.

These include AI interaction specialists, human-technology interface designers and AI ethics and governance leads, alongside domain-specific safety testers in sectors such as healthcare, finance and manufacturing. Notably, interdisciplinary roles at the intersection of AI and social sciences are also gaining traction, Nambiar said.

India, Nambiar noted, is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this shift, not just as a large-scale adopter but as a global talent hub.

“India is not just a large-scale adopter of AI. It is currently one of the global leaders in AI talent penetration,” he said.

Addressing concerns around job displacement, Nambiar pushed back against the idea that AI-led disruption will lead to net job losses, arguing instead for a broader, industry-wide view of employment trends.

“It is important to view this from a whole-of-industry perspective rather than through the lens of any one segment. With around 6 million workforce as of FY26E, the tech industry continues to be a net employment generator,” he said.

He added that job creation will not be confined to a single segment, but will emerge across startups, global capability centres (GCCs), traditional IT services firms and AI-native enterprises, each contributing differently.

“Net job creation will come from a combination of all four (startups, GCCs, traditional IT services and AI-native enterprises), but with different roles and timelines,” Nambiar said. 

“Startups and AI-native enterprises will create high-intensity roles in model development, AI platforms and verticalised solutions.”

“At the same time, GCCs are emerging as major engines of job creation, particularly in applied research, product engineering, and AI-led decision intelligence, as global enterprises embed AI deeper into core operations,” he added.

In traditional IT services, the shift is already visible in delivery models.

“In technology services, we are seeing the emergence of Human + AI delivery pods where AI executes clearly defined, rule-based workflows, with built-in human oversight ensuring accountability and quality,” Nambiar said.

Global enterprises, he added, are increasingly looking to India to anchor their AI operations as they transition from experimentation to business-critical deployments. This includes setting up hubs focused on MLOps and AI governance, areas expected to see sustained demand.