The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) convened an Industry Consultation on 'Supporting AI Transformation of IT Services Industry' in Kochi, Kerala on June 15, 2026. The consultation was chaired by Shri S Krishnan, IAS, Secretary of MeitY, and organized by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Kochi. The meeting brought together senior officials from MeitY, the Government of Kerala, and industry representatives to discuss challenges, growth avenues, and government support required to catalyze the AI transformation of India's IT Services sector.
India's IT industry contributes approximately USD 246 billion in annual exports and employs around 6 million professionals, making it a critical sector of the Indian economy. The consultation recognized that Generative AI is rapidly gaining traction across IT and BPM processes, with companies leveraging it for greater productivity and cost optimization. Client expectations are shifting from process management to end-to-end transformation solutions, driving demand for new skills and domain-centric job roles across verticals including BFSI, healthcare, manufacturing, and retail.
Key discussion areas included how the IT Services industry is adapting to AI-led changes in service delivery and client expectations, the need for large-scale upskilling and reskilling of the Indian IT/BPM workforce in AI and digital technologies to maintain global competitiveness, investments in AI, GenAI, Agentic AI, automation, analytics and cloud technologies, and the development of AI-powered products, co-pilots and automation platforms. The consultation also addressed expansion of IT/BPM operations into new and emerging IT hubs to generate employment and ensure balanced regional growth.
During the consultation, Shri S Krishnan emphasized that "The development and deployment of AI applications will require a large number of trained human resources. That is what India has to offer to the world. The focus must shift from concerns about job loss to investing in reskilling, upskilling, talent development and technological upgradation." The consultation aligns with the IndiaAI Mission approved by the Cabinet in March 2024 and complements initiatives under IndiaAI Application Development and IndiaAI Futureskills Initiatives.
The event was attended by several senior officials including Shri K K Singh (Joint Secretary, MeitY), the IT Secretary of Government of Kerala, Shri Rajeshwar Singh Jenwar (Director and Head of Division, SIPD Division, MeitY), Shri Arvind Kumar (Director General, STPI), Shri Ganesh Nayak (Director, STPI, Kochi), Shri Vishwas Shrivastava (Scientist E, MeitY), and senior representatives from the IT industry. This consultation is part of MeitY's ongoing engagement with the industry to develop forward-looking policy support for the IT sector.