Automation, AI will make 20 crore young Indians jobless: Mohandas Pai

Industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai feels that due to automation, about 20 crore middle class young people would have no jobs or fewer jobs by 2025.

"By 2025 there will be 200 million young people in the age group of 21-41 with no jobs or less jobs and nobody knows what to do with these people. Government policy does not know what to do as they don't have proper data. We are going to have demographic nightmare,” Pai, who is the chairman of Manipal Global Education Services, told ET.

Nearly 52% of people are employed in agriculture as compared to 62% 10 years earlier and number of population which depends on services and industries is growing at 10%.

"Disparity between people in agriculture and in service industry is widening and that is getting social attention all across India which has led to various agitation across states," Pai told ET.

He said that more and more companies are relying on automation and artificial intelligence in machine and this will lead to loss in jobs.

"Rule based jobs will get eliminated. Much of middle class people are involved in rule based jobs. Rule based jobs can be made by algorithms. Machines are still not creative. People who are creative will remain," Pai said.

He also feels that in sectors like banking too, jobs are shrinking because of automation of payment system with the help of ATMs, digital payments.

"Bank branches and employment are now shrinking in America. In India in last 15 years, banks have growth 10-15 times in assets and liabilities but employment has grown 5 per cent. In India very soon there will be robo finance which will search all portals and give you bank loan quote in half an hour," Pai told ET.