AI won’t kill Indian IT, says Anand Mahindra

New Delhi: Amid market volatility triggered by fears that AI could hollow out India’s IT services industry, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra has offered a contrarian view, arguing that reports of the sector’s demise may be “greatly exaggerated.”

In a post on X, Mahindra responded to the much-discussed “Citrini thought experiment”, a fictional 2028 scenario in which agentic AI tools slash software production costs, prompting global corporations to cut outsourcing, hit Indian IT revenues and even strain India’s balance of payments. While acknowledging that AI will pressure IT firms to rethink cost structures, headcount models and effort-based pricing, Mahindra said the role of service providers is more likely to evolve than disappear.

He argued that as AI scales across enterprises, demand will grow for firms that can ensure secure data foundations, integrate legacy and cloud systems, manage governance and compliance, and deliver mission-critical reliability. The real differentiator, he said, will be outcome-based delivery, risk management and the ability to deliver “scale at speed”, a theme he linked to the strategy of Tech Mahindra. Markets, Mahindra noted, are swinging as they try to price deep uncertainty. His alternative scenario: IT services companies that pivot decisively toward AI orchestration and outcome-led models could remain central and highly relevant in the AI era.