India sees 3.5 lakh AI job openings in 90 days amid talent shortage, TechGig

India has witnessed a surge in demand for artificial intelligence (AI) talent, with approximately 3.5 lakh job openings reported over the last 90 days, according to a recent report. This trend highlights the growing need for professionals capable of deploying AI solutions in production environments, despite concerns regarding the technology’s impact on employment.The report estimates that India’s AI workforce comprises around 920,000 professionals, positioning the country as one of the largest AI talent pools globally. However, the demand for skilled AI professionals continues to outstrip supply, with employers posting around 350,000 AI-related job openings during the quarter.

Kapil Joshi, CEO of IT Staffing at Quess Corp, noted that the primary challenge is not the overall availability of AI talent but rather the shortage of individuals who can effectively implement AI in real-world applications.

The findings challenge the narrative that AI is causing a decline in white-collar jobs. Instead, companies are actively seeking AI specialists, deployment engineers, and governance professionals who can integrate AI into business processes.

Notably, only 257,000 of India’s AI professionals are classified as core AI talent, focusing on areas such as large language models (LLMs) and machine learning, with nearly 70 percent of hiring demand concentrated in these roles.

The shift from experimentation to deployment is evident, with roles in generative AI and prompt engineering facing an 82.9 percent demand-supply gap. The demand for experienced professionals is also on the rise, with nearly half of all AI job openings targeting candidates with three to five years of experience.

This reflects a growing preference for deployment-ready talent, as the share of fresher demand in the broader technology market has fallen from 28 percent to 15 percent over the past year.

AI adoption is expanding beyond traditional tech roles, with approximately 120,000 openings in non-technology sectors such as operations, marketing, and finance. Companies are increasingly hiring domain experts who can leverage AI to enhance productivity and automate workflows.

Joshi emphasized that while AI may automate certain tasks, it will not eliminate jobs entirely; rather, roles will evolve to become AI-enabled.