New Delhi [India], September 29 (ANI): India's technology industry is facing a significant shortage of AI-ready professionals, with the talent supply gap in Generative AI (GenAI) standing at about 53 per cent, while only 16 per cent of IT professionals have AI skills, according to TeamLease Digital's latest report.
The report, which analysed 37,000 technology and digital roles, said the shortage of specialised talent is increasingly influencing hiring patterns and salaries across India's technology industry.
It said, “India’s tech industry is growing fast, but the supply of AI-ready talent is not keeping pace…… a 53–60 per cent talent gap in GenAI and Cloud, with only about 16 per cent of IT professionals holding AI skills”.
The report data highlighted that the Cloud has the widest talent supply gap among the four skill families covered in the report, at 55-60 per cent, followed by GenAI at around 53 per cent. Demand for GenAI talent is expected to cross 10 lakh roles by 2026.
The report said the cybersecurity talent gap stands at 25-30 per cent, although the shortage in the segment is narrowing.
Despite efforts to build the country's AI talent pool, the skills base remains limited. Around 20 lakh professionals have been upskilled, but only about 3 lakh have advanced AI skills, the report said.
The report divided AI-related jobs into three categories. AI-Core roles are responsible for building and owning intelligent systems, including GenAI and machine learning engineers. AI-Adjacent roles apply AI within established technology functions, including data, cloud and cybersecurity engineering. AI-Support roles focus on monitoring, validation and first-line resolution of AI-enabled operations.
The report found that the shortage of specialised skills is translating into higher salary premiums for AI-Core and other product-critical roles.
For example, a GenAI Developer with 0-2 years of experience earns Rs 11.2 lakh per annum (LPA), which can rise to Rs 34.5 LPA at 6-8 years. A Data Engineer's salary increases from Rs 9.1 LPA to Rs 29.6 LPA over the same experience period.
In comparison, a Technical Support Engineer earns Rs 5.2 LPA at 0-2 years, rising to Rs 14.6 LPA at 6-8 years.
By the 6-8 year experience level, GenAI, ML and Data Science roles command salaries of around Rs 31-35 LPA, nearly twice those of AI-Support roles, according to the report.
Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital, said, "AI is changing what it means to be capable. Using AI tools is now the baseline; what the market rewards is the ability to build, run and govern AI in production. That is why we look at talent through three tiers, AI-Core, AI-Adjacent and AI-Support, because with only about 16 per cent of IT professionals holding AI skills, 'AI-skilled' means very different things at each level. But technical depth alone does not set the premium. It sits where proximity to the AI stack meets domain knowledge, and where human skills like creativity and adaptability come in, especially as close to 39 per cent of core skills are expected to change by 2030”.
The report also pointed to a changing hiring pattern in the technology industry, with entry-level absorption coming under pressure as revenue growth outpaces hiring.
It said the 16 premium roles identified across AI, Data, Cloud & Platform and Cybersecurity were dominated by AI-Core and AI-Adjacent positions. Four were AI-Core roles, and 12 were AI-Adjacent, while none were from the AI-Support category. (ANI)
India's AI talent gap reaches 53%, while only 16% of IT professionals have AI skills: Report
