India's commerce and industry ministry working to identify AI proof sectors: Piyush Goyal

India is working to identify sectors that can withstand AI-led disruption, commerce minister Piyush Goyal said.

India's commerce and industry ministry is working to identify artificial intelligence (AI)-proof sectors, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said, as concerns grow over the technology's potential impact on jobs.

Goyal's statement comes against the backdrop of the threat AI poses to employment. In October last year, India's federal policy think tank NITI Aayog said the country's technology services sector faces the risk of significant job displacement by 2031, but also has the opportunity to create up to 4 million new jobs over the next five years.

"That is an idea that I thought is important in the fast-changing technological landscape around us. And I personally feel many areas where we can take global leadership, given the huge skill and talent that India has and the youthful population," Goyal said.

India has launched the ₹10,371.92 crore IndiaAI Mission, with the government also supporting 20 indigenous foundation model projects, including Sarvam AI, Gnani.AI, BharatGen and Avataar AI.

Global outreach

Goyal, who is on an official visit to Germany and the Netherlands, said during a late Friday night press briefing that the Indian government would write to its embassies and high commissions around the world to encourage greater participation in global conferences, seminars, exhibitions and fairs focused on AI, startups and semiconductors.

Strong goods exports are key to India's economic growth. Merchandise exports in September grew 23% from a year earlier to $44.4 billion despite external headwinds, while imports rose 8% to $74.61 billion, according to provisional data released by the commerce ministry. Higher export growth narrowed the trade deficit to $30.21 billion in September from $33 billion a year earlier.

"Also, given the traditional skills that many of us in India acquire. So, our handicraft handloom. No amount of AI can replace that. Our culinary strengths, our tourism. So there are many-many areas where I think we have some very special strengths, which we will be focusing on, and also simultaneously developing, to ensure that 1.4 billion people have a better life in the future," Goyal said.

This comes as global supply chains face disruption from the wars in West Asia and Ukraine, alongside a global slowdown and an uncertain trade environment.

Jobs under threat

"The report highlights that AI disruption is already reshaping jobs in India's $245 billion technology and CX sectors. Without swift action, routine roles such as QA engineers and L1 support agents risk rapid redundancy. But with the right skilling, reskilling, and innovation pathways, India could emerge as a global hub for AI-first roles -- from ethical AI specialists and AI trainers to sentiment analysts and AI DevOps engineers," NITI Aayog said in a 10 October statement while releasing its Roadmap for Job Creation in the AI Economy report.

"Look at the media itself. You guys are also in an AI proof sector," Goyal said and added, "the way you do field reporting and reach the spot at the right time and the intricacies you find out by observing all the four sides; that is unparalleled and unmatched."

Showcasing India

India has also been expanding its presence at global trade fairs and events. A large Indian contingent is set to attend Slush in Helsinki next month, described as the world's most founder-focused startup event. India also has a large presence at the ongoing SIAL Start-Up in France and was the largest country participant at VivaTech, Europe's largest annual startup and technology conference. Bharat Innovates 2026, an international deep-tech innovation summit, was held in Nice in June.

In response to a Mint query, Goyal said, "So, now India is making its presence felt," and added, "I will talk to Dr. Jaishankar and together we will reach out to all the missions. So that we can create a buzz globally of the India story, the India strength."

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised India's GDP growth forecast by 60 basis points to 7% for the current fiscal year, 2026-27, firmly positioning India as the fastest-growing major economy globally.

"Agriculture and food fairs are another very important area....Hannover (Hannover Messe) in engineering is probably the most important fair. Then there's tourism," Goyal said.