Budget 2026 Expectations: Turning India’s AI Talent into Job-Ready Professionals

As India gears up for Union Budget 2026, industry leaders are urging the government to move beyond broad AI skilling initiatives and focus on turning talent into real jobs. While India already possesses a substantial AI talent pool, experts stress that the next budget must prioritize outcomes—including employability, infrastructure, and domestic AI capabilities.

With AI expected to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to India’s economy in the coming years, the focus is shifting from vision to execution and measurable impact.

From AI Skilling to Job-Ready Talent

Raghav Gupta, CEO of Futurense, said India already has a strong AI talent base, but employability remains a major concern.

“India already accounts for nearly 16% of the global AI talent pool, yet multiple industry reports show that fewer than 25% of graduates are job-ready for advanced digital and AI roles,” Gupta said.

He added that the challenge lies not in interest or enrolments, but in limited real-world exposure. Budget 2026 should encourage:

• Stronger collaboration between industry and academia

• Experiential learning programs

• Incentives for companies to invest in AI adoption and workforce training

“A future-ready Budget should view AI, education, and workforce transformation as a single continuum,” Gupta said, stressing that aligning higher education reforms with skilling incentives and enterprise adoption is key to creating productive jobs.

Gaps in Compute, Data, and Indian AI Models

Nakul Kundra, CEO and co-founder of Devnagri, highlighted structural gaps slowing AI progress despite the government’s “Make AI in India” initiative.

“High GPU costs, limited domestic compute capacity with India accounting for under 2% of global data centre capacity, and the absence of scalable indigenous large language models trained on diverse Indian datasets remain key bottlenecks,” Kundra said.

He emphasized that Budget 2026 must shift decisively from intent to execution, including:

• Funding for Indian language-first AI models

• Clear rules around data dignity and consent

• Incentives to boost applied AI adoption in banking, e-commerce, consumer businesses, and governance

“Equally critical is treating core AI infrastructure, such as compute and data platforms, as digital public goods backed by sustained public investment,” he added.

Data Centres and AI as National Assets

Narendra Sen, Founder and CEO of RackBank and NeevCloud, stressed the strategic importance of data centres and AI infrastructure.

“Data Centers are the new sovereign territory and AI is the new electricity,” Sen said.

While India’s projected 1.7 GW data centre capacity is a milestone, he called for a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for compute that supports domestic cloud platforms over foreign hyperscalers.

“By treating AI infrastructure as a strategic national asset—similar to highways or power grids—we can ensure that India’s data remains within India’s legal framework, securing our digital sovereignty for decades to come,” Sen added.

What Budget 2026 Could Deliver

Collectively, industry experts emphasize that India’s AI strategy must integrate education, infrastructure, and enterprise adoption. Budget 2026 has the potential to:

• Convert India’s large AI talent pool into job-ready professionals

• Build local AI capability and scalable models

• Support data sovereignty and domestic AI infrastructure

• Foster enterprise adoption of applied AI across sectors

Experts agree that the focus should now be on outcomes, not just scale, ensuring AI contributes lasting economic value for India.