India’s engineering graduates are walking into the toughest job market in years, and the head of the country’s tech industry body is not mincing words about it. In an interview with Nikkei Asia on November 6, Nasscom president Rajesh Nambiar said fresh graduates could struggle to land technology jobs as artificial intelligence takes over the entry-level coding and software testing work that has traditionally been their first step into the industry.
“From a fresher’s point of view, it is a concern, and I will not sugarcoat it any differently,” Nambiar said in the interview from Bengaluru. His warning lands at a moment when India’s colleges are producing engineers at record scale while the industry’s hiring engine is barely growing.
What Nambiar actually said
Nambiar’s concern is not that AI will wipe out tech jobs altogether. It is that the first rung of the career ladder is changing faster than colleges can keep up. Basic coding and software testing, the tasks that once gave lakhs of graduates their first jobs at firms like TCS and Infosys, are increasingly being handled by AI tools.
He also pointed to a deeper shift in how IT companies earn their money. As revenue models move towards being paid for outcomes rather than for the number of people deployed on a project, the old formula of hiring in bulk no longer fits. Until exporters adjust to that new reality, Nambiar said, fresh graduates will find the going hard.
His sharpest words were reserved for the education system. “If our education system is unable to make that transition very quickly, students will come out with skill sets which may be very obsolete already,” he said, adding that “the level of transformations required in the curriculum has never been this significant.”
The numbers behind the warning
Nasscom’s own strategic review puts the scale of the mismatch in plain numbers. India’s technology industry is projected to employ roughly 6 million people directly in FY26, but the net addition is just 1,35,000 jobs, a rise of only 2.3 percent over the previous year. That is barely 2,000 more net jobs than the 1,33,000 added in FY25.
Meanwhile, the supply side keeps growing. India had 5,903 engineering and technology institutions with enrolments close to 2.6 million in the financial year ending March 2026. Around 1.5 million computer science graduates enter the market every year, competing for a pool of new jobs that is growing far more slowly.
- 6 million: projected direct tech jobs in FY26
- 1,35,000: net new jobs added in FY26, up just 2.3 percent
- 2.6 million: engineering and technology enrolments in FY26
- 1.5 million: computer science graduates entering the job market every year
- 5,903: engineering and technology institutions across India
Why the first rung is disappearing
For decades, India’s IT services model ran on a simple equation: revenue and headcount grew together. Companies won large contracts and hired thousands of freshers to deliver them. AI has broken that link. A single engineer assisted by AI tools can now do work that once needed a small team, so companies can grow revenue without adding staff at the same pace.
The change is visible in the numbers reported by the biggest firms. TCS posted only 0.5 percent sequential revenue growth in the July to September quarter, yet its AI revenue rose 19 percent on an annualised basis to 3.1 billion dollars. Infosys recorded 29 percent quarter-on-quarter growth in AI revenue and trimmed its FY27 revenue growth forecast to 1 to 2 percent. The message from both is the same: AI work is growing fast, but it is not creating fresher jobs at the old rate.
The fix Nambiar is pushing
Nambiar’s answer is a curriculum overhaul, and he wants it done quickly. Nasscom is co-designing a joint AI undergraduate curriculum with the University Grants Commission and other agencies, and he expects the approval process to take about six months. The aim is to make AI fluency a core part of engineering education rather than an optional add-on, so graduates arrive with skills companies actually need.
That timeline matters. A curriculum approved in six months still has to reach classrooms, and students currently in college cannot wait for it. For them, the practical advice from industry watchers is consistent: learn to work with AI tools, build real projects, and pick up skills in demand such as AI engineering, data science, cloud computing and cybersecurity, where hiring is still strong.
What this means for freshers
The warning should not be read as a reason to abandon technology careers. Nasscom’s own data shows the industry remains a net job creator, and AI is opening new roles even as it closes old ones. But the era of the mass campus drive, where a degree alone could secure a first job, is fading. Graduates who can show they know how to use AI, check its output and solve real problems will have a clear edge over those who cannot.
For families planning engineering admissions, the calculation has changed too. The choice of college matters less than what a student actually learns there, and the safest bet now is a course that treats AI as a working skill, not a theory chapter.
FAQs
Why did Nasscom warn about fresher jobs?
President Rajesh Nambiar told Nikkei Asia on November 6 that AI is automating entry-level coding and testing, the work that traditionally gave fresh graduates their first IT jobs.
How many tech jobs is India adding in FY26?
Nasscom projects a net addition of about 1,35,000 jobs in FY26, taking direct tech employment to roughly 6 million, a rise of just 2.3 percent.
How many computer science graduates enter the job market each year?
Around 1.5 million, according to the figures cited in the Nikkei Asia interview, against a much slower pace of new job creation.
What is Nasscom doing about the skills gap?
It is co-designing a joint AI undergraduate curriculum with the University Grants Commission and other agencies, expected to take about six months to approve.
Is AI killing all IT jobs?
No. The industry remains a net job creator, and demand is growing for AI, data, cloud and cybersecurity skills. The squeeze is concentrated at the entry level, where routine tasks are being automated.
The warning from the top of India’s tech industry is blunt, but it is also a map. The jobs are still there. They just look different now, and graduates who adapt fastest will be the ones who get them.
