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India's Tech Sector Grapples with Massive AI, Cloud Talent Shortage: Report
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News18•29-09-2026, 19:45
India's Tech Sector Grapples with Massive AI, Cloud Talent Shortage: Report
- •India's technology industry faces a significant AI-ready talent gap, with shortages estimated at 53-60% in Generative AI and cloud skills.
- •Only about 16% of IT professionals currently possess AI skills, according to TeamLease Digital's 'Digital Skills & Salary Primer FY27' report.
- •The cloud sector has the widest supply gap at 55-60%, followed by GenAI at approximately 53%, with demand for GenAI talent projected to exceed 10 lakh roles by 2026.
- •Salary premiums are increasingly shifting towards AI-core and product-critical engineering roles, even for early career professionals, due to the talent shortage.
- •GenAI Developers with 6-8 years of experience can earn Rs 34.5 LPA, significantly higher than AI-Support roles, a gap expected to widen further.
Key Questions Answered
India's technology industry faces a talent gap of 53 to 60 per cent in Generative AI and cloud skills. Specifically, cloud has the widest supply gap at 55 to 60 per cent, followed by GenAI at about 53 per cent.
Only about 16 per cent of IT professionals in India currently hold AI skills, meaning that being 'AI-skilled' varies significantly across different tiers.
A GenAI Developer earns around Rs 11.2 LPA at 0 to 2 years of experience, which rises to Rs 34.5 LPA at 6 to 8 years of experience.
