KT Rama Rao urges youth to become job creators amid AI threat

KT Rama Rao urged Indian youth to become job creators and emphasised upskilling amid the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence, while highlighting Hyderabad’s startup ecosystem and calling for innovation, entrepreneurship and stronger public-private partnerships.

Hyderabad: BRS working president KT Rama Rao called on Indian youth to transition from job seekers to job creators, while cautioning that Artificial Intelligence (AI) could significantly disrupt global employment. He stressed the urgency of continuous upskilling.

Speaking at a ‘Fireside Chat’ at Columbia University following his address at the Columbia Business School’s annual conference, Rama Rao emphasised the need for entrepreneurial ambition and adaptability. “Youth should not merely remain job seekers, but must aspire to become job creators,” he said, urging students to pursue innovation with courage and determination.

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Pointing to the challenges posed by AI, the former Minister warned that the technology could impact millions of jobs in the coming years. “This threat is real and imminent. Governments and societies are not fully prepared,” he said, citing recent layoffs in global tech firms, including Oracle, as an early indicator of the shift.

He stated that while India made rapid strides in physical and digital infrastructure over the past decade by adopting technologies like 3G, 4G and 5G ahead of many nations, it now stands at a crossroads. “India can no longer rely on copy-paste models. We must innovate and chart our own path,” he said.

On the startup ecosystem, Rama Rao called Hyderabad a model, attributing its success to strong institutional support, incubators, co-working spaces and mentorship networks for the emergence of startup unicorns. He also emphasised that entrepreneurship required not just government schemes, but a robust ecosystem to nurture innovation and scale businesses.

Addressing unemployment, the BRS working president said India’s demographic dividend is both a boon and a bane. He argued that job creation alone is insufficient without a skilled workforce, and advocated stronger public-private partnerships in sectors such as infrastructure, clean energy, life sciences and food processing.

He also encouraged students to embrace failure as part of the journey to success and to think beyond incremental gains. “Dream big, stay resilient, and seize global opportunities,” he said.

The session witnessed participation from students, academics and members of the Indian diaspora.