The AI Era: Why Satya Nadella Is Tapping On India's Talent We are doubling our commitment of January 2025 to equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, says Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

A country is as good as its talent.

…And taking cognizance of the huge opportunity in India, Microsoft is investing heavily in empowering skilled talent in the country. "For this, we are doubling our commitment of January 2025 to equip 20 million Indians with essential AI skills by 2030, working with government, industry, and digital public platforms to ensure equitable access to opportunity," said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, addressing Microsoft leadership in New Delhi today.

Microsoft has invested $17.5 billion, the largest investment in Asia till date. Nadella says the mission is to empower every person and every organisation in the country to be able to achieve more.

Through its ADVANTA(I)GE India initiative, executed by Microsoft Elevate, the company has already trained 5.6 million people since January 2025 —well ahead of the original goal of training 10 million by 2030. "These programs aren't just about learning—they are creating real economic impact, having enabled over 125,000 individuals with jobs or entrepreneurial opportunities," said the CEO.

For Nadella, the biggest indicator of success is the rate of technology diffusion. He is confident that technology diffusion in each era in India from Web, PCs, Cloud and now to AI, will be equal, "In each of the previous eras the rate of diffusion was the same."

He emphasized, "Adoption of new technology is important to create new technology and maintaining diplomacy is mandatory." Nadella said the company is not only building infrastructures but doing so with sovereignty controls. "Sovereignty is crucial as everyone wants to ensure control of their data, and we are building multiple options. The question is how you keep sovereignty and cyber resilience in balance," he said.

The announcements in India are about building an ecosystem that drives innovation, trust and opportunity for all. By expanding hyperscale infrastructure, embedding AI into national platforms, and advancing workforce readiness, India is positioned to lead the world in the AI era—powered by scale, skilling, and sovereignty.

The new investment is to advance the country's Cloud and AI infrastructure, skilling and ongoing operations. This investment builds on the US$3 billion investment announced earlier this year.

It's no more about AI versus humans. It's now about putting humans back on the Ai journey!

According to a LinkedIn report, a significant percentage of professionals in the country said they want to work for themselves in the near future, with factors like AI adoption, a strong skilling appetite, and the power of trusted professional networks making it easier to start and scale their business

"AI is becoming part of everyday operations for India's small businesses. 82 per cent of SMB leaders here say it has made starting and running a business easier, and 97 per cent already use it in some form. For 83 per cent, AI has become critical for business growth," the report said. This attests to the growing appetite of skill development in the era of AI.

Every day, it seems like there's a new AI tool making headlines. In fact, this year alone, thousands of new AI-powered apps and platforms have launched—reshaping how we work, create, and solve problems. By 2030, 70 per cent of the skills used in most jobs will change, with AI emerging as a catalyst.

Puneet Chandok, president, Microsoft India and South Asia, said, "Someone will not lose a job to AI but one who refuses to learn AI and upskill will be at a loss."

The world will have access to unmetered intelligence- how will one rewire business? human-led, agent-operated frontier firms are here- one must hire digital colleagues, build agent factories. "India is laying the digital tracks for Al, and defusing Al from classrooms to boardrooms. AI skill is the only oxygen mask that we need to survive," Chandok added.

As Albert Einstein said, "The measure of intelligence is the ability to change." And that's exactly what we need to do in this race with AI: innovate, upskill, repeat!