AI is a generational shift, with impact far greater than internet: Sunil Mittal
Artificial intelligence
is a generational shift, with its impact far greater than the internet, that touches almost every aspect of our lives, said
Sunil Bharti Mittal
, chairman,
Bharti Enterprises
.
Speaking at the
CII Annual Business Summit 2025
, the former
CII
president said a significant impact of AI in India is its effect on employment, particularly given India's large, young workforce.
Mittal said AI will create difficulties in areas like software engineering, noting that now even a layman can speak to a machine to write code.
'India has the largest workforce, the youngest developing in the world. There are 20 million children in the age group six to sixteen. In ten year's time, they will be sixteen to twenty-six, each wanting a job. AI will create difficulties in that area. Some parts are clearly visible today,' Mittal said.
However, Mittal said AI will also create new opportunities and more jobs. 'Using AI will become absolutely important for everyone, especially in emerging countries like India,' the executive said.
Mittal said that while Indian industry is committed to national progress, an enabling environment from the government is essential to remove bottlenecks and accelerate India's development journey.
He presented an industry wish list to the government, including key asks on Ease of Doing Business, GST reforms, and corporate taxation.
Mittal highlighted the demographic advantage India holds as other developed nations ages and immigration barriers rise.
'Industry and academia must go beyond surface-level collaboration and jointly build a globally competitive, job-ready workforce. Emerging fields such as AI, green energy, space communication, and next-gen telecom demand urgent attention,' he said.
Mittal also expressed concern over India spending less than 1% of its GDP on research and development, asking the industry to step up and invest aggressively in deep tech and innovation.
'Our large domestic market gives us scale, but we need intellectual leadership too. Only then can the government scale its R&D efforts with confidence,' Mittal said.
The executive also called for a trade reset, advocating for a fundamental shift in India's approach to trade and exports.
'We must diversify our export basket and focus on products and services that are needed globally. No raw material should leave our shores without value addition,' Mittal said.
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