Kunal Shah, founding father of CRED and co-founder of Freecharge, has a stark warning: “Each professional has to grow to be AI native to stay related. Those that keep in denial shall be left behind.”
India’s Financial Survey echoes his considerations. With automation threatening hundreds of thousands of jobs in a labour-heavy financial system, the federal government is weighing an AI tax to cushion the blow. A January 2024 IMF report suggests such measures may assist fund reskilling packages and defend financial stability.
The survey calls AI a double-edged sword—providing “unprecedented alternatives and vital challenges.” India’s huge workforce and low wages make job displacement an even bigger danger than in wealthier nations. The federal government’s AI roadmap, which incorporates semiconductor incentives and homegrown AI fashions, goals to stability innovation with job preservation.
Not everybody agrees with an AI tax. “Any nation that even flirts with punishing corporations for utilizing AI shall be left behind irreversibly,” warns Gaurav Parab, principal analysis analyst at UK-based NelsonHall. Bloomberg experiences that banks—early AI adopters—may slash 200,000 jobs within the subsequent 3–5 years. Indian IT giants like TCS and Wipro admit AI is already slowing hiring.
Nonetheless, some see alternative in reskilling. “AI’s promise lies in augmented intelligence—leveraging each human and machine capabilities,” says Nitin Bhatt, expertise sector chief at EY-India. The survey urges a three-way collaboration between authorities, trade, and academia to make sure AI’s advantages are broadly shared.
For now, AI taxation stays a proposal. However as automation reshapes industries, India’s capability to adapt—by regulation, innovation, or workforce transformation—will decide its financial future.
