Shark Tank India choose and Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal has stirred a pointy debate on India’s tech-first narrative, after sharing a photograph of an aged girl working as a supply particular person, urging the nation to rethink its blind push towards AI and deep-tech with out acknowledging floor realities.
“Noticed this girl the opposite day, and thought perhaps she ought to be taught Python,” Mittal wrote on LinkedIn, alongside the picture. “Maybe she will fine-tune an LLM too, whereas delivering your groceries.”
His publish wasn’t simply sarcasm—it was a pointed critique of India’s tech-policy tunnel imaginative and prescient.
“Each time I say India wants jobs together with deep-tech, somebody sends me a whitepaper on AI skilling. Principally parroting the West with out understanding our personal actuality,” he mentioned.
Mittal acknowledged that AI and automation are reworking international workforces—tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, and Google have predicted that 40–50% of labor will likely be AI-driven within the subsequent few years. “Sure, true!” he wrote. “However these are economies with decrease populations, excessive formal employment, and deep reskilling budgets.”
Recalling his time within the U.S., Mittal pointed to the size of institutional upskilling overseas. “After I labored within the US, each time a brand new tech or software program rolled out, we have been upskilled in actual time—not simply as people, however throughout the whole org. That’s what actual skilling infrastructure appears like.”
Against this, India, he mentioned, is way from prepared. “Most are self-employed. India just isn’t there but.” On this context, he argued, the gig financial system has been a crucial lifeline. “It enabled employment for tens of millions. In a rustic holding ~20% of the world’s inhabitants, that’s no imply feat!”
Mittal warned towards romanticizing deep-tech as a silver bullet. “After we begin touting deep-tech as the one answer to all our issues, we endanger the livelihoods of a billion plus nation.”
He acknowledged India’s twin identification: “Sure, we’ve got highly-skilled and super-talented people who will undoubtedly construct future big-tech from India—however we even have a big low-skilled populace that must be taken alongside.”
“India wants to handle each these points concurrently, no?” he requested in closing. “What’s your take?”
