The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has issued a stark warning about India's approach to artificial intelligence workforce development. According to reports from Upstox News Desk and Financial Express Chandigarh, the apex industry body cautioned that India risks building a technology workforce that depends on AI tools rather than developing professionals who are truly AI-native if deep engineering capabilities are not preserved by industry and academia. This warning comes as more than 90% of India's early-career technology professionals have already adopted AI, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the country's IT sector.
As reported by Upstox News Desk and Financial Express Chandigarh, India has a unique opportunity to establish itself as a global hub for AI-native technology talent, but the country must avoid scaling a workforce that is AI-reliant rather than AI-native. The industry body emphasized that AI skills penetration is not the same as being AI-native, representing a crucial distinction in workforce development strategy. NASSCOM warned that the decline of routine coding work must not lead to a drop in fundamental technical skills, maintaining that core engineering expertise remains essential for sustainable AI-native capabilities.
According to the NASSCOM recommendations reported by Upstox News Desk and Financial Express Chandigarh, the organization called for a coordinated effort by academia and industry to move beyond traditional coding instruction. The apex body urged academic institutions to strengthen engineering judgment, domain learning and reimagine assessment methods to reflect AI-driven work environments. This academic transformation is designed to ensure that technical education evolves to meet the demands of AI-native workforce requirements while maintaining fundamental engineering principles.
As reported by Upstox News Desk and Financial Express Chandigarh, NASSCOM urged companies to redesign talent development strategies by building strong foundational capabilities, expanding mentorship programmes, encouraging independent problem-solving, integrating AI verification into workflows and continuously upskilling early-career professionals. For the IT industry specifically, the shift to an AI-native workforce will require rethinking long-established operating models, with hiring assessments shifting from testing basic coding knowledge to evaluating comprehensive AI-native capabilities. The industry body emphasized that companies must redesign capability building to include AI-augmented foundational learning, simulation-based exercises, and multi-layered mentorship to encourage independent problem-solving among early-career talent.
