NITI Aayog calls for AI-led overhaul of India's tech services industry

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 13, 2026 | Technology

Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, government think tank NITI Aayog has urged a fundamental restructuring of India’s technology services industry around artificial intelligence (AI), warning that the current labour-intensive model will not sustain global competitiveness.

In its 10-year roadmap titled ‘Technology Services – Reimagination Ahead’, the think tank says the sector must transition to outcome-based, intellectual property (IP)-led and platform-driven delivery models to achieve a revenue target of $750-850 billion by 2035.

According to NITI, India’s technology services industry, currently valued at around $265 billion and contributing 7 per cent to gross domestic product (GDP), is already facing a growth slowdown of 4-5 per cent due to AI-driven automation and broader macroeconomic shifts.

Why AI is critical for the tech sector?

The roadmap makes it clear that simply expanding the traditional labour-driven IT services model will no longer be enough. AI, automation and platform-based delivery are transforming how businesses purchase and use technology services. As a result, Indian companies can no longer depend solely on large workforces and cost advantages to drive growth.

According to the report, AI represents a fundamental shift in value creation. Instead of relying primarily on headcount-based revenues, firms will need to focus on building intellectual property, delivering measurable outcomes and developing platform-led solutions. This transition presents India with an opportunity not just to remain a global services hub, but to emerge as a leader in creating AI-native systems and high-value digital solutions.

Companies that fail to adapt risk being confined to low-margin service segments, the report warns. NITI Aayog places the technology services sector at the centre of India’s broader economic ambitions. Its evolution, the report notes, will be critical to meeting long-term growth and employment objectives.

The roadmap also highlights mounting external pressures, including geopolitical fragmentation, data localisation mandates and changing client expectations. These dynamics strengthen the case for diversification, resilience and innovation-led growth.

Five strategic growth levers for India’s AI transition

To enable structural transformation, NITI Aayog identifies five strategic growth pillars:

Agentic AI

Software & Products

Digital Infrastructure

Innovation-led Engineering

India-for-India solutions

To unlock these, the roadmap calls for coordinated action across government and industry: accelerated enterprise AI adoption, scaled investment in IP and R&D, workforce reskilling at national scale, and regulatory predictability to enable global market access.

Policy reforms to enable AI-driven growth

On the policy front, the report recommends streamlined regulatory processes through a national single-window mechanism for technology services companies. It also calls for strengthening India’s innovation and R&D ecosystem and expanding large-scale skilling and reskilling programmes focused on AI-augmented roles.

Further, it stresses the need for clarity around employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and talent mobility to support startups and product-led firms.

“The rise of AI is transforming the technology services industry in fundamental ways. For India, this is not just a challenge, it is a generational opportunity to create new value pools, upgrade skills at scale and strengthen our global leadership. The roadmap launched today outlines a forward-looking strategy to build an innovation-driven, AI-enabled technology services ecosystem that supports India’s growth ambitions and creates high-quality employment,” said BVR Subrahmanyam, CEO, NITI Aayog.

Source link

What businesses should track closely at the India AI Impact Summit 2026

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 13, 2026 | Technology

The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 will be held from February 16 to 20 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, positioning India as host of the first global AI summit in the Global South. Organised under the IndiaAI Mission and anchored by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the five-day programme aims to bring together governments, companies, startups, researchers and civil society to focus on how artificial intelligence is being deployed on the ground, not just debated at a policy level .

For businesses, the summit is less about headline speeches and more about signals on where AI adoption is moving, which use cases are gaining institutional backing, and how public systems may shape future demand.

Sectoral AI use cases moving beyond pilots

A core focus of the summit is showcasing AI applications already being deployed across sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, governance, education and financial services. According to the officials, these are not framed as experimental projects but as scalable systems intended for public service delivery and industry adoption.

“For companies building in AI, especially applied AI, this summit is expected to move the narrative from experimentation to execution,” said Apurv Agrawal, CEO and co-founder of SquadStack.ai, a conversational AI company whose voice-based agents became the first in the world to pass a Turing Test. “We are looking for clear signals on infrastructure support, policy stability, compute accessibility, and long term commitment to deep tech.”

Startups and companies working on farming advisory tools, remote diagnostics, language translation, fraud detection, and judicial automation are expected to feature prominently across the summit’s thematic tracks, as per the official release. For businesses, these sessions offer visibility into how AI is being operationalised in real environments, particularly in rural and low-resource settings, and where government-backed demand may emerge.

Agrawal said industry is watching closely for alignment between policy ambition and enterprise realities. “The biggest expectation is that this becomes a platform where real use cases, real deployments, and real outcomes are highlighted rather than just announcements.”

Indian startups to watch on responsible and applied AI

Several Indian startups are part of the summit ecosystem, reflecting its emphasis on applied and responsible AI. These include firms working on privacy-preserving AI systems, cybersecurity platforms, multilingual AI tools for farmers, vertical language models for smallholder agriculture, aquaculture monitoring, fresh-produce quality tracking, AI-enabled governance tools, and judicial transcription systems.

Others operate in conversational AI, surveillance analytics, satellite-based AI, video generation and drone-based inspections.

“Companies expect three things: regulatory clarity that balances innovation with governance, expanded access to sovereign compute infrastructure — India’s 1.2 million H100-equivalent capacity is a fraction of the US’s 39.7 million — and concrete global collaboration frameworks, especially around AI chip access and cross-border R&D,” said Sudiptaa Paul Choudhury, CMO of QNu Labs, a full-stack hybrid quantum cybersecurity company, which delivers hardware and software solutions that protect critical infrastructure worldwide.

She added that the presence of a large international business delegation raises the stakes. “With 100+ US firms attending through USISPF’s largest-ever delegation, the stakes are real. What must not get lost in the AI euphoria is the security conversation. Every AI system is only as trustworthy as the cryptographic infrastructure protecting it, and quantum computing is about to upend that entire foundation.”

Global tech leaders and policy signals

The summit is also expected to see participation from senior leadership at major global technology firms, alongside Indian business leaders and policymakers. The summit is also being framed as a platform to position India differently in the global AI economy not just as a talent supplier, but as a deployment and product ecosystem.

“This summit can position India not just as a talent hub, but as a product nation in AI,” Agrawal said. He pointed to opportunities around indigenous model development, public-private partnerships in sectors such as BFSI, healthcare and governance, access to datasets and computes for startups, and exporting AI products built for Indian conditions to other emerging markets.

The presence of global CEOs and founders alongside regulators and multilateral bodies signals that outcomes from the summit may feed into future standards, partnerships and procurement decisions, particularly in emerging markets.

Flagship challenges and funding pathways

A major business-relevant component of the summit is its set of flagship challenges. The AI for ALL Global Impact Challenge, AI by HER Global Impact Challenge, and YUVAI Global Youth Challenge are designed to surface deployable AI solutions in areas such as agriculture, healthcare, education, climate and governance.

Winning teams are eligible for financial awards, mentorship, cloud credits, pilot opportunities with institutions, and visibility through the summit’s official platforms. For investors and enterprises, these challenges function as a pipeline for early-stage technologies that have already been screened for real-world relevance.

What companies should track closely

“India is strong in AI talent, data scale, and applied AI use cases,” Agrawal said, while flagging lagging compute access and long-term capital. Choudhury described the gap more starkly, “India’s AI talent advantage writes cheques its infrastructure can’t yet cash.”

Hence, for businesses tracking the summit, the key signals will lie in commitments on compute access, security standards, data governance, procurement pathways and the scale of public investment announced or avoided. The outcomes may shape not just India’s AI roadmap, but how companies plan deployment, partnerships and risk over the next decade.

Source link

Tech Wrap Feb 12: Lava Yuva Star 3, Apple releases iOS 26.3, EvoFox Deck 2

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 12, 2026 | Technology

Lava has introduced a new entry-level smartphone, the Yuva Star 3. The device is backed by a 5,000mAh battery and is available in two colour variants — Indus Black and Siachen White. It features a 6.75-inch display, a 13MP rear camera, and a 5MP front-facing camera. The company describes the handset as a suitable first smartphone for new users. The Lava Yuva Star 3 follows the Lava Yuva Star 2, which debuted in May last year.

Apple has released the iOS 26.3 update for compatible iPhone models, bringing several new features, system refinements, and security patches. The update includes changes to the wallpaper gallery, a tool to help users switch from an iPhone to an Android device and notification forwarding support for third-party accessories, among other additions.

Amkette has unveiled the EvoFox Deck 2 game controller in India, highlighting its compatibility across Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Nintendo Switch platforms. The company said the controller is mainly aimed at smartphone gamers but can also connect to PCs and consoles through Bluetooth. It features Hall Effect joysticks and triggers, macro buttons, and RGB lighting. The EvoFox Deck 2 replaces the original EvoFox Deck introduced in July 2024.

Nothing has started rolling out the beta version of its Playground platform, widening access to a tool that allows users to create simple, custom apps using natural language rather than code. Known as the Essential Apps Builder, the feature is available through a waitlist and is currently limited to the Nothing Phone 3 during this initial phase, the company said on its community blog.

Facebook is rolling out new Meta AI-powered tools designed to make profiles, Stories, and Feed posts more dynamic. Users can animate profile pictures, restyle images in Stories and Memories, and apply animated backgrounds to text posts. According to Meta, these tools are intended to help users express themselves creatively without requiring advanced editing skills.

Threads is launching a new feature called “Dear Algo” that gives users greater control over their feed. As stated in Meta’s latest blog, the AI-driven tool enables users to temporarily adjust their feed by specifying what type of content they want to see. Instead of depending only on the “Not Interested” option, users can now post a request that modifies their feed for a limited period. The feature is currently available in the US, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, with plans to expand to additional regions.

Google has reportedly delayed the Android 17 beta update, which was expected to launch on February 11 for select Pixel devices. As per Android Central, Google had contacted several publications about the release, but the Android Developers blog post and related official documentation did not appear. The company later indicated that the Android 17 beta is coming soon, though not on February 11.

Indian AI startup Sarvam AI has launched Saaras V3, the latest version of its speech recognition model. The company claims the model performs better than several global systems, including Google’s Gemini 3 Pro, OpenAI’s GPT-4o Transcribe, Deepgram Nova-3, and ElevenLabs Scribe v2, on benchmarks focused on Indian languages and Indian-accented English.

American video game developer Insomniac Games’ superhero action-adventure title Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is reportedly set to join the PS Plus Game Catalogue this month. According to a report by Gadgets 360, citing Dealabs, the game will be included in the PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue for February. Alongside Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, racing game Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown and puzzle-platformer Neva are also said to be part of February’s additions to the subscription service.

Microsoft has addressed a security issue in Notepad that may have allowed attackers to trick users into clicking malicious links within Markdown files. The company fixed the flaw in its latest patch update to prevent possible misuse. Microsoft said the vulnerability could have enabled remote loading and execution of harmful files on a user’s system. It added that there is no evidence of the flaw being actively exploited.

Apple has reportedly postponed the launch of its revamped Siri once again. According to Bloomberg, the virtual assistant has encountered testing challenges in recent weeks, which may have delayed certain anticipated features from iOS 26.4 to iOS 26.5 (expected in May) and potentially to iOS 27 (likely in September).

Leading AI players Nvidia, Google, and OpenAI are among 400 exhibitors set to participate in the five-day India AI Impact Expo 2026, a senior government official said. STPI Director General Arvind Kumar told PTI that the event will act as a matchmaking platform for AI ecosystem participants, where Indian innovators will also present their work.

Elon Musk said he reorganised xAI, his artificial intelligence startup, after two co-founders exited earlier this week. The company will now operate across four main areas, he told employees during a Wednesday meeting: Grok’s chatbot and voice product, Coding, the Imagine video product, and Macrohard, an AI software firm run by digital agents. Musk shared the plan during an all-hands meeting, which he later posted on X.

New York-based Chief Executive Officer Matt Shumer said artificial intelligence is something bigger than the Covid-19 pandemic. He stressed that people should not treat AI as a future issue to be discussed later, but recognise that “this is happening right now”.

Experts have advised telecom service providers to take stronger responsibility in improving customer verification procedures and offering proactive assistance to investigative agencies in tackling cybercrime, officials said on Wednesday.

This week, OpenAI began testing ads on ChatGPT. I also resigned from the company after two years as a researcher working on how AI models were developed and priced, and helping shape early safety policies before standards were formalised. I once believed I could help those building AI anticipate and address the problems it might create. This week reinforced my growing view that OpenAI seems to have stopped asking the questions I joined to help answer.

Source link

IIT Bombay, Columbia Univ to set up AI centre for manufacturing innovation

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 12, 2026 | Technology

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay on Thursday inked an agreement with the US-based Columbia University to establish a centre of artificial intelligence (AI) for manufacturing.

Initiated by the Union Education Ministry, the joint research and translation centre aims at building robust, scalable and human-centric AI systems for real-world manufacturing. “Many industry partners are in the process of joining this centre,” people in the know said.

The new centre aims to address all areas of manufacturing, including semiconductors, robotics, industrial manufacturing, process industries such as pharmaceuticals, food processing, refining and petrochemicals, construction and infrastructure development, as well as transport and logistics.

This will be the fifth AI centre to be initiated by the ministry after the Translational AI for Networked Universal Healthcare (TANUH) Foundation at IISc, the IIT Madras Bodhan AI Foundation (for education), and a centre each for sustainable cities and agriculture with IIT Kanpur and IIT Ropar, respectively.

Commenting on the development, IIT Bombay Director Prof Shireesh Kedare said that the partnership reflects its commitment to nation-building by positioning India as a global leader in AI-driven manufacturing innovation.

“By building open and interoperable industrial AI infrastructure, this initiative will support industry modernisation, empower MSMEs, nurture start-ups and develop future-ready talent,” he added.

Leveraging the complementary strengths of both institutes in various domains such as foundational AI, optimisation, manufacturing and process engineering, this centre will develop end-to-end, interoperable industrial AI infrastructure.

“This will address shop-floor realities such as legacy equipment, noisy data, real-time constraints and multilingual workforces,” IIT Bombay added.

Through close engagement with industry partners, officials said that the centre will deliver applied research, customised solutions, talent development and start-up translation, while releasing foundational datasets, models and interfaces as public goods to strengthen India’s varied manufacturing ecosystem, including MSMEs.

Source link

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 to join PS Plus February game catalogue: Report

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 12, 2026 | Technology

2 min read Last Updated : Feb 12 2026 | 4:41 PM IST

The report added that the three games will be added to the PS Plus Game Catalogue on February 17. However, the full list of games arriving this month has not yet been confirmed.

According to the report, Sony is expected to officially unveil the February lineup of games during the State of Play presentation scheduled for February 12. If confirmed, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 would be the third Insomniac Spider-Man title available through the service, joining Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered and Spider-Man: Miles Morales. The sequel follows Peter Parker and Miles Morales as they confront new adversaries, including Kraven the Hunter and Venom.

What is Marvel’s Spider-Man 2

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a 2023 action-adventure game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 5. The game originally launched as a PS5 exclusive in 2023 before making its way to PC last year. It is the third entry in Insomniac’s Spider-Man series, following Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) and Spider-Man: Miles Morales (2020). The game continues the story of Peter Parker and Miles Morales as dual playable protagonists, allowing players to switch between the two characters during certain parts of the campaign.

Set in an expanded open-world version of New York City, the game introduces new traversal mechanics, combat abilities, and enemy factions. The narrative centres on threats such as Kraven the Hunter and Venom, while exploring the evolving personal lives of both Spider-Men. The title combines story-driven missions with side activities and optional objectives across the city.

First Published: Feb 12 2026 | 4:30 PM IST

Source link

India AI Impact Summit: Govt outlines AI-led growth, jobs, skilling push

by Hansraj Agrawal | Feb 12, 2026 | Technology

Ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled from February 16 to 20 in New Delhi, the government has outlined the role of artificial intelligence as a key engine of India’s economic growth, productivity and employment creation. This earmarks the government’s objective to ensure that AI adoption enhances productivity and employment while keeping humans central to decision-making. The Summit is expected to position India as a contributor to global AI development, governance and cooperation, rather than only a large-scale adopter.

A report by Competition Commission of India (CCI) states that India’s AI market expanded from $2.97 billion in 2020 to $7.63 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $131.31 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual rate of 42.2 per cent. During the same period, the global AI market grew from $103.6 billion to $288.8 billion.

Global indicators underline India’s AI readiness

Multiple international benchmarks cited in the report suggest India is better positioned than many emerging economies to adopt and scale artificial intelligence.

India ranked third in Stanford University’s 2025 Global AI Vibrancy Ranking, behind the United States and China.

According to Stanford’s AI Index Report 2025, India’s relative penetration of AI skills is 2.5 times higher than the global average across comparable occupations, highlighting a growing depth of AI-capable talent.

India scored 49.3 on the IMF’s AI Preparedness Index, higher than the average for emerging and developing economies, and ranked 27th in Oxford Insights’ Government AI Readiness Index 2025, leading South and Central Asia.

Digital infrastructure supports AI expansion

The report identifies digital infrastructure as a central enabler of India’s AI ambitions. Internet connections crossed 100 crore in June 2025, compared with 25.15 crore in 2014, while India has emerged as the world’s second-largest 5G market with more than 400 million users.

National Informatics Centre data centres in Delhi, Pune, Bhubaneswar and Hyderabad have expanded storage capacity to around 100 petabytes, supporting AI model training, deployment and data-intensive governance applications. The government has also acquired 38,000 GPUs as part of efforts to strengthen domestic AI compute capacity.

Startup ecosystem and foundation models in focus

In preparation for the Summit, 12 AI startups selected under the IndiaAI Mission’s Foundation Model pillar presented their work at a roundtable chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. These startups are working on Indian language foundation models, multilingual large language models, speech and video generation, 3D content creation, engineering simulations, healthcare diagnostics and material research.

AI reshaping India’s labour market

The report states that artificial intelligence presents India with an opportunity for labour market transformation rather than displacement. Between 2023 and 2025, AI-related job postings in South Asia more than doubled, with India accounting for the majority of listings.

Stanford’s AI Index Report 2025 shows India leading globally in AI talent hiring growth, with an annual hiring rate of about 33 per cent. GitHub data places India as the second-largest contributor to global AI projects, accounting for nearly one-fifth of total contributions in 2024.

Southern India emerges as AI jobs hub

AI-related employment in India is concentrated in southern technology hubs. Bengaluru accounted for around 11 per cent of AI job listings in 2025, followed by Hyderabad at 9.57 per cent, Pune at 6.95 per cent and Chennai at 6.62 per cent, according to World Bank data cited in the report.

Roles requiring AI expertise offer a significant wage premium. Jobs demanding AI skills command salaries up to 28 per cent higher than non-AI roles, reflecting strong demand for specialised talent.

Skilling initiatives target workforce readiness

To address skill requirements, the government has rolled out multiple skilling and education initiatives aligned with AI adoption. These include IndiaAI FutureSkills, FutureSkills Prime, Skill India Digital Hub, and curriculum reforms under the National Education Policy 2020.

As of December 2025, the Centre is supporting 500 PhD scholars, 5,000 postgraduates and 8,000 undergraduates in AI-related fields. AI and data labs have been established in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, alongside upgrades in ITIs and polytechnics across 27 states and Union territories.

Source link

« Older Entries

Next Entries »

Times Top News

Times Top News