New Delhi, Feb 16 (.) Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Monday said that progress in Artificial Intelligence (AI) will not occur by “drift” and stressed the need for urgency, political will, and strong state capacity to harness its benefits.
Speaking at a session on ‘Employability in the AI Age: Preparing for the Jobs of Tomorrow’ at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Nageswaran underlined that India must act with clear intent to ensure AI strengthens, rather than disrupts, the country’s growth and social fabric.
“India can become the first large society where human abundance and machine intelligence reinforce, and not undermine, each other,” he said.
“This will not happen by drift; this will require urgency. It will require political will, it will require state capacity, and it will require a clear national commitment to aligning technological adoption with mass employability.”
He emphasised that the efforts must be in a coordinated fashion involving the government, private sector, academia, and policymakers with the spirit of “Team India”. “The window is still open, but it is not indefinite,” he cautioned.
The CEA called for aligning AI adoption with large-scale job creation and inclusive growth, warning that uncalibrated technological change could lead to social and economic instability.
“For India, this is not a debate about the future of work; it is a decision about the future of growth, social stability, and cohesion. We must act, and act now,” Nageswaran said.
He stressed that reforms must begin with strengthening foundational education and upgrading pedagogy and skill development systems. According to him, improving the teaching of core skills is the starting point for ensuring that AI contributes to employability and shared prosperity.
Nageswaran also highlighted the need to scale high-quality skills training, expand labour-intensive service sectors, and remove regulatory bottlenecks that hinder job creation.
He concluded that India must move decisively to co-create prosperity with AI, ensuring that technological advancement supports economic growth while safeguarding social cohesion. . VK VAN KK