Srikanth Velamakanni takes charge at Nasscom as industry shifts to AI-led execution

Push spans services transformation, product innovation, and responsible AI frameworks.

India’s top IT industry body Nasscom has appointed Srikanth Velamakanni as its new Chairperson, signalling a sharper push towards AI-led industry transformation.

He succeeds Sindhu Gangadharan, managing director of SAP Labs India, who completes her term in April 2026.

The Executive Council has also elected Kishor Patil as Vice Chairperson, strengthening the leadership bench at a time when the industry is recalibrating around artificial intelligence, platformisation, and global delivery shifts.

Srikanth steps into the role after serving as vice chairperson and spending over six years on Nasscom’s Executive Council.

As co-founder and Group CEO of Fractal, he brings deep experience in enterprise AI, analytics, and global go-to-market execution. His appointment comes at a point where AI is moving from experimentation to scaled deployment across enterprises.

Working alongside Rajesh Nambiar and the Executive Council, Srikanth is expected to steer the industry’s next phase of growth around a set of tightly linked priorities.

At the centre is the acceleration of AI-led transformation in IT services, alongside a parallel push to build product capabilities.

Emphasis on Agentic AI

Nasscom is placing increasing emphasis on agentic AI, with a clear intent to position India as a source of autonomous, multi-agent systems and domain-specific AI products for global markets.

The strategy expands beyond software into deeper technology layers.

The industry body is sharpening its focus on IP-led innovation across AI infrastructure, semiconductors, frontier technologies, and advanced engineering. This reflects a broader shift in India’s tech narrative, from services scale to ownership of intellectual property and deep technology capabilities.

Talent remains a parallel priority. Nasscom is expected to scale skilling initiatives to prepare the workforce for Human+AI operating models, where automation and augmentation reshape roles across the value chain.

The focus is not just on volume but on aligning skills with emerging enterprise requirements in AI deployment, governance, and integration.

Responsible AI is another core pillar. The industry body plans to drive industry-led standards and governance frameworks, positioning India as a trusted hub for ethical and accountable AI adoption.

This comes amid growing global scrutiny around AI risks, data governance, and regulatory alignment.

Srikanth has been an active voice in India’s AI ecosystem, advocating for sovereign AI capabilities and participating in government advisory discussions on AI policy and national security.

His broader institutional engagement includes his role as a founder and trustee of Plaksha University, which focuses on rethinking technology education in India.

The leadership transition reflects continuity as well as a strategic pivot.

Under Sindhu Gangadharan, Nasscom navigates a period of scale and global expansion. The next phase now shifts towards execution in an AI-first world, where services, products, talent, and governance converge into a single industry agenda.