Amid increasing fears among India’s youth with regard to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and replacing their previous jobs, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proclaimed that the technology should be considered a “force multiplier” instead of a threat.
Discussing the situation in an exclusive interview with ANI during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, the Prime Minister stresses: "Preparation is the antidote to fear," laying out a national strategy with strong focus on:
- Accelerating Skills
- Re-skilling
"History Favors Innovation"
The Prime Minister drew on past technological revolutions to alleviate fears about mass unemployment. He added that every significant innovation had terrified workers over the years but all history indicates technology creates more jobs than it destroys.
“Work does not vanish because of technology; its nature changes. While some jobs might be redefined, the digital transformation will create new tech jobs in India’s economy,” he said.
Highlights of the Government’s AI Strategy:
- Force Multiplier Effect: PM Modi stressed that AI is driving professionals doctors, teachers and lawyers to reach and help a much larger demographic of people than could have been possible.
- Viksit Bharat 2047: AI at the heart of the vision of India to be a developed nation by 2047, with PM promising to position India as one of the top three AI superpowers around the world.
- Human Centric: “Sarvajan Hitay, Sarvajan Sukhaye,” the summit motto (Welfare for all, happiness of all), speaks to an understanding that technology should be used for humanity, not as a replacement.
Strengthening the IT Sector
Meeting fears in the IT hub, the Prime Minister said that AI was not supplanting the IT sector but reinventing it. Given that India's IT sector is projected to rise to $400 billion by 2030, the emphasis is moving from service delivery to developing an original range of AI solutions and products. This vision is reinforced with the Union Budget 2026-27's expansion of infrastructure at data centers and for cloud computing, so that India’s "talented youth" have tools to go from consumers to creators of AI;
