AI progress will not happen by 'drift', needs urgency: CEA Nageswaran

Nageswaran warned that without careful and calibrated action, rapid technological change could create social and economic instability

Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Monday said that artificial intelligence (AI) progress will not happen by "drift". While speaking at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Nageswaran stressed that it requires urgency, political will, and strong state capacity.

 

Addressing a session on 'Employability in the AI Age: Preparing for the Jobs of Tomorrow', he underlined that India must move with clear intent if it wants to benefit from AI.

 

Nageswaran said, "India can become the first large society where human abundance and machine intelligence reinforce, and not undermine, each other. This will not happen by drift; this will require an urgent say. It will require political will, it will require state capacity, and it will require a clear national commitment to aligning technological adoption with mass employability. It has to be a Team India effort, including the private sector and academics, as well as policymakers. The window is still open, but it is not indefinite."

 

Nageswaran calls for 'Team India' effort

The CEA called for a coordinated national response involving government, private companies, academia, and policymakers. He said AI must be aligned with large-scale job creation and inclusive growth, rather than becoming a source of disruption.

 

He warned that without careful and calibrated action, rapid technological change could create social and economic instability. 

Focus on education and skills

Nageswaran said reforms must start with strengthening foundational education and upgrading the way skills are taught. "For India, this is not a debate about the future of work; it is a decision about the future of growth, social stability, and cohesion. We must act, and act now. The first step begins with the reform of our education, pedagogy, and the teaching and imparting of foundational skills. That is where the path to co-creating prosperity with AI and employability in the age of AI begins, and that is where the path begins," he said.

 

He added that India must move precisely by strengthening the base of education, scaling high-quality skills, expanding labour-intensive service sectors and removing regulatory bottlenecks that slow job creation. 

AI Impact Summit 2026

The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 is the first global AI summit to be hosted in the Global South. It builds on earlier meetings such as the UK AI Safety Summit, the AI Seoul Summit, the France AI Action Summit and the Global AI Summit on Africa. The focus is on moving beyond speeches and promises to real cooperation, clear goals and practical results in global AI governance.

 

The summit aims to ensure that AI supports inclusive growth, social progress and innovation that benefits people and protects the planet. At the same time, it recognises challenges such as job disruption, bias and rising energy use, and calls for measurable action to manage both the benefits and risks of AI.