Up to 60 pc talent shortage in GenAI, Cloud spurs huge market opportunities

India’s tech industry faces a 53–60 per cent talent gap in GenAI and Cloud, with only 16 per cent of IT professionals possessing AI skills, a TeamLease Digital report said. GenAI demand is expected to exceed 10 lakh roles by 2026

New Delhi: India’s tech industry is growing fast but holds a 53–60 per cent talent gap in GenAI and Cloud with only about 16 per cent of IT professionals holding AI skills, a report said on Tuesday. The report from talent solutions firm TeamLease Digital said that Cloud has the widest supply gap of the four skill families at 55–60 per cent, followed by GenAI at about 53 per cent.

It also noted that demand for GenAI talent will cross 10 lakh roles by 2026, while the gap in Cybersecurity is narrowing but stands at 25–30 per cent. It analysed 37,000 technology and digital roles, and found that the talent gap is shaping delivery models, hiring and salaries in Indian technology firms across AI-Core, AI-Adjacent and AI-Support roles.

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Only about 16 per cent of IT professionals hold AI skills while 20 lakh professionals have been upskilled, only about 3 lakh have advanced AI skills. The report divided AI roles into three tiers — AI‑Core, AI‑Adjacent and AI‑Support — and showed that of 16 premium roles identified across AI, data, cloud and cybersecurity, four are AI‑Core and 12 are AI‑Adjacent, while none are AI‑Support.

The mix indicated that the entry layer in tech firms is compressing rather than being repriced. With skills in short supply, salary premiums are moving toward AI-Core and product-critical engineering roles from the early stages of a career.

A GenAI Developer (AI‑Core) earns Rs 11.2 LPA at 0–2 years, rising to Rs 34.5 LPA at 6–8 years; a Data Engineer (AI‑Adjacent) moves from Rs 9.1 LPA to Rs 29.6 LPA; and a Technical Support Engineer (AI‑Support) moves from Rs 5.2 LPA to Rs 14.6 LPA.

The same pattern holds at senior levels, where the highest pay sits with roles that scale, secure and operationalise AI platforms. An ML Platform Architect with 15 years of experience earns Rs 94.8 LPA; a Platform Engineering Manager earns Rs 75.6 LPA and a QA Automation Lead earns Rs 38.4 LPA with projected FY28 growth of 16 per cent, 13.4 per cent and 7.8 per cent, respectively.

“Salary premiums sit where proximity to the AI stack meets domain knowledge, and where human skills like creativity and adaptability come in, especially as close to 39 per cent of core skills are expected to change by 2030,” said Neeti Sharma, CEO, TeamLease Digital.