NITI Aayog directs tech services industry to shift toward IP-led, AI-driven systems

Ten-year plan targets $750 to 850 billion growth through R&D investment, workforce reskilling and enterprise AI adoption.

NITI Aayog releases a ten-year roadmap to reposition India’s technology services industry for the AI era.

The roadmap, titled ‘Technology Services – Reimagination Ahead’, outlines how India’s $265 billion (approximately) technology services sector can scale to $750 to 850 billion by 2035, while strengthening global competitiveness in the AI era and supporting the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

It calls for a structural shift.

The document states that artificial intelligence will redefine value creation in the industry.

It urges companies to move away from labour-arbitrage services, and pushes firms toward IP-led, outcome-oriented, and platform-driven delivery models.

The roadmap identifies five priority growth levers.

These include agentic AI, software and products, digital infrastructure, innovation-led engineering, and India-for-India solutions.

It calls for coordinated action between government and industry, and the plan seeks accelerated enterprise AI adoption.

It pushes for scaled investment in intellectual property and R&D, recommends workforce reskilling at national scale and calls for regulatory predictability to support global market access.

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, said India stands at a defining moment in its technology journey. He states that the government aims to build an enabling ecosystem through progressive policy, strong industry partnership, and coordinated inter-ministerial action.

He adds that the government will work closely with industry and stakeholders to position India as a trusted global leader in next-generation technology services.

MeitY’s secretary, S Krishnan, said India is pursuing a full-stack, impact-driven AI strategy.

He says the strategy spans energy, infrastructure, chips, models, and applications. He adds that the technology services sector remains central to scaling AI from labs to industry.

Krishnan highlights recent reforms.

These include higher safe-harbour thresholds, simplified classifications, cloud tax incentives linked to Indian data centres, Semiconductor Mission 2.0, and new education-to-employment mechanisms.

The roadmap asks India’s technology services industry to transition from a services exporter to an AI-native systems architect.