'AI is the centrepiece of every major IT firm's growth strategy'

Indian IT is strategically repositioning for an AI-driven future, leveraging its vast talent pool and focusing on high-margin AI-led services, aiming to maintain its global leadership in technology services.

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According to Nasscom president Rajesh Nambiar, AI is set to dominate the IT sector in 2026, with technology firms anticipating increased IT budgets and widespread AI project adoption. In this interview, he speaks to Sudhir Chowdhary on the key trends and IT sector outlook. Excerpts:

What's fuelling India's IT sector growth? What were the key trends in 2025?

In 2025, global strategic realignment has accelerated, and India's technology industry has responded by steadily deepening its role across the global technology value chain. Across services, GCCs, and startups, there was a sharper and more sustained focus on next-generation technologies such as generative AI, agentic AI, and cybersecurity. Indian startups made notable progress in building sovereign AI capabilities, multilingual models, and deeptech solutions that address both domestic priorities and global market needs, strengthening India's innovation credibility beyond services alone.