Sonipat, 24 December, 2025: In a ground-breaking symposia during pre-summit preparations for understanding the impact of AI on Human Capital in India and on Emerging economies, O.P. Jindal Global University in partnership with The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) brought together key academics, thought leaders, market experts, legal luminaries and experts to enable a framework and model for this key development which will have a significant influence on people, policies and nation building including higher education. The proposed summit to be held from 16th February 2026 to 20th February 2026 will focus on strategies that can equip India and its policies for the human capital, across the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy as well as the functioning of governments at central and state levels, for achieving its goal of Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

The pre-summit discourse was spread over an inaugural session, followed by two panel discussions to primarily delve into understanding what policy frameworks are needed to ensure AI diffusion benefits both formal and informal sectors, particularly rural and low-income communities and how can national skilling missions and education systems be aligned with the evolving demands of an AI-driven economy. They also deliberated about how AI can be leveraged to enhance productivity without exacerbating inequality or displacing vulnerable workers, what models exist (e.g., cooperatives, agri-tech partnerships, public data commons) to democratize access to AI tools, who bears responsibility for retraining and redeployment: the employers, the state, or educational institutions and how can India’s AI policies incorporate global best practices while reflecting local socio-economic realities.

On the momentous occasion of the Pre-Summit Event, Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor of O.P. Jindal Global University, welcomed the effective convening of the pre-summit event on “Impact of AI on Human Capital in India and Emerging Economies”, organised by the University in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

He observed that for a country like India, with its distinctive demographic profile and developmental aspirations, the central challenge lies not merely in adopting new technologies, but in ensuring that artificial intelligence is responsibly integrated to strengthen human capital, enhance productivity, and promote inclusive and ethical growth. He underlined that the discussions appropriately focused on channelling AI’s transformative potential through regulatory foresight, responsible deployment, and sustained investments in reskilling and institutional capacity, particularly in the context of India’s vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047.

Professor Kumar further emphasised that universities have a critical role to play in shaping the future of AI governance and capacity-building. At O.P. Jindal Global University, particularly through the Cyril Shroff Centre for AI, Law and Regulation at Jindal Global Law School, the University is committed to advancing interdisciplinary research, education, and dialogue that bridge law, technology, public policy, and the social sciences.

Adding to the discourse on the evolving nature of India’s workforce and the future of skills, Professor Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, O.P. Jindal Global University, in his welcome address to the distinguished gathering, “The deployment of AI comes with a transformative potential for all sectors of the economy, both in terms of productivity and output. However, it also implies challenges of skill development and redundancy. In the tertiary sector, the impacts of AI deployment are already visible with job cuts and lay-offs across the IT and ITES, education, accounting, audit, legal and allied services industries. Similarly, work structures and skill requirements have also significantly reshaped across multiple sectors. Deployment of AI presents opportunities as well as adaptive challenges. It indeed has the potential to aid India in achieving its goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047. However, India needs to ensure it provides equitable distribution of this technology and can take measures to mitigate severe workforce displacement. This Pre-Event Summit seeks to discuss the impact that AI is likely to have on human capital, in all sectors of the Indian economy.” The pre-summit discussions began with an inaugural session which also included leading academics of JGU. The first panel discussion was on AI and Human Capital in the Primary, Manufacturing, Accounting, BFSI Services sector & Capital Markets which explored how AI-based systems in agriculture, manufacturing, accounting, audit and BFSI sectors which can enhance productivity, efficiency, and sustainability while addressing implications for labour and livelihoods. The discussants included Dr. Charan Singh-(CEO Egrow Foundation & Former Chairman Punjab & Sind Bank), Dr. Amarjit Chopra- (Director, Tata Power Trading, Member BoG, MDI Gurugram Former President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, Member NFRA & Ex Chairman, NACAS)- Online, Mr. Sushil Agarwal (Chairman & Managing Director Avro India Ltd.), Dr. Dinesh Tyagi, IAS (Retd.) (Chairman SODES), Mr. Sumit Mathur (Director Gen AI-NatWest Group), Prof. (Dr.) Nandita Bhan, Professor & Vice Dean (Academics- JSPH), Dr. Chavi Asrani, (Associate Professor-JSBF), Prof. Mayank Dhaundiyal (Professor & Dean- JGBS), Prof. Dayanand Pandey (Professor & Dean- JSBF) and Prof. R. Sudarshan (Professor & Dean- JSGP).

It was noted that AI-powered automation is gradually transforming how industries operate, creating new opportunities for safer and more efficient workflow. This also comes with a greater demand for roles that require digital and technical skills. At the same time, these shifts can displace routine jobs and widen skill gaps, especially for smaller firms, including MSME’s, that struggle to adopt new technologies. The challenge is to use AI to boost productivity while helping workers adapt through reskilling and ensuring that the benefits are shared across the manufacturing workforce.

The second panel was on AI and Human Capital in Healthcare, Education, Legal Education, IT & IT enabled Services. It examined how AI-driven automation and analytics are reshaping employment, skills, and the structure of the services sector – particularly areas such as education (STEM & Liberal Arts), legal education & services, IT-Enabled Services (ITES), e-governance, public services and healthcare services. The panel discussed the impact of AI on the manufacturing sector wherein AI-enabled robotics, intelligent automation as well as data-driven production systems are changing workforce requirements. The panel would explore technological shifts across both services and manufacturing sectors are redefining job roles, skill needs, and organizational practices, and what this means for the future of human capital in an AI-integrated economy.

The participants were Dr. Abhilasha Gaur (CEO-NASSCOM IT-ITeS SSC), Mr. NSN Murty (Partner & Leader, Government and Public Services, Technology and Transformation, Deloitte India), Mr. Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, IAS (Former Addl. Chief Secretary, Govt. of Tripura, Ex. Jt. Secretary, MeitY, Govt of India), Prof. (Dr.) Nitesh Bansal (Professor & Vice Dean JSPH, Dean OOPSS), Mr. Sandeep Arora (Vice President- Capgemini), Mr. Akashdeeep (IPoS-Post-Master General- India Post Gurugram Region) and Mr. Satwik Mishra (Public Policy Manager - AI and State Management - Google).

This panel also examined how AI-driven automation and analytics are reshaping employment, skills, and the structure of the services sector – particularly areas such as education (STEM & Liberal Arts), legal education & services, IT-Enabled Services (ITES), e-governance, public services and healthcare services.

The deliberations were looking at substantial outcomes and aimed to create a platform for dialogue among policymakers, industry leaders, experts, technologists, and academics to discuss the evolving landscape of AI. It involved dialogue and analysis of how to put human capital at the centre of India’s AI journey towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047, facilitate an open exchange of perspectives on ethical, legal, and economic challenges posed by AI on human capital in primary, manufacturing and tertiary sectors, deliberate on strategies for equipping India’s workforce to adapt to the AI-driven economy, with a focus on reskilling, education, and inclusion. The discussants also explored global approaches to skill development of human capital due to the introduction of AI, from the EU to the U.S & draw insights relevant for India and to encourage multi-stakeholder collaboration, ensuring that governance models are not only legally sound but also socially responsible and technologically feasible while also enabling an exchange of viewpoints on building India as a global AI hub and exporter of talent to help India being the first mover in AI-integrated education and a global benchmark in AI skilling and research.

(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with O.P. Jindal Global University and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR