5.8Mn Indian IT jobs at risk from AI, warns industry leader
NEW DELHI, INDIA — India’s IT sector faces a potential workforce disruption as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes enterprise operations, with 5.8 million technology professionals at risk, an industry leader warned at the India AI Impact Summit 2026.
In a report from CXOToday, Jay Bavisi, founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of EC-Council, called for an urgent national pivot to reskill and realign the IT workforce to meet the challenges of AI-driven disruption.
Market impact of AI disruption on India’s IT services sector
The summit, hosted by the Government of India, through the India AI Mission at Bharat Mandapam, attracted over 300,000 visitors during its three-day duration, including international technology executives like Sundar Pichai of Google, Sam Altman of OpenAI, and Dario Amodei of Anthropic.
The event showed how AI research has evolved into actual operational systems, which create direct impacts on India’s IT-BPM industry that generates US$283 billion and accounts for more than 7% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Bavisi addressed the panel “Responsible AI at Scale: Governance, Integrity & Cyber Readiness,” stressing the urgency of workforce preparedness.
“Without structural discipline and responsibility, AI could cause ‘mayhem’ when embedded into core systems,” he said.
The warning emerged during a period of intense decline in IT stocks which saw India’s Nifty IT index drop almost 19% throughout eight trading days while multiple leading firms reached new 52-week low points.
Internationally traded shares of major Indian IT companies experienced a decline as worldwide investors showed concern about the future of labor-dependent outsourcing methods in the AI age.
Reskilling IT professionals for enterprise AI implementation
While AI threatens traditional service delivery, it simultaneously opens new opportunities for professionals skilled in deploying, securing, and governing AI at enterprise scale.
Bavisi emphasized that the decisive factor in responsible AI implementation will be disciplined workforce capability.
“Execution maturity,” he said, will define leadership in AI, ensuring professionals can protect governments and communities rather than just chase technological speed.
In response, EC-Council launched its largest expansion in 25 years: the Enterprise AI Credential Suite.
Built on the proprietary “Adopt. Defend. Govern.” framework, the suite includes roles such as AI Essentials (AI|E), Certified AI Program Manager (C|AIPM), and Certified Responsible AI Governance & Ethics Professional (C|RAGE), aimed at bridging the skills gap for AI adoption, governance, and security.
As AI reshapes global IT outsourcing, India’s ability to retrain and redeploy its workforce could determine its competitive edge.
While traditional labor-intensive models face pressure, structured reskilling and role-aligned credentials may allow the country not only to safeguard millions of jobs but also to supply the world with AI-ready professionals, positioning India as a potential leader in a new era of technology services.
