Despite the deep penetration of artificial intelligence (AI) into India's technology sector, there remains a significant shortage of skilled personnel in new areas such as generative AI (GenAI) and cloud technologies. According to the report, only about 16% of IT professionals possess AI skills.
In its latest study, titled Digital Skills & Salary Primer FY2026–27, TeamLease Digital noted that the demand for AI-ready personnel continues to exceed the available supply. The largest talent gap is observed in cloud technologies, accounting for 55–60%, followed by GenAI with a deficit of about 53%. It is projected that by 2026, the need for GenAI specialists will exceed 10 lakh vacancies. The cybersecurity deficit is estimated at 25–30%, and although it is narrowing, it remains substantial.
TeamLease Digital's assessment of the AI talent landscape divides roles into three levels. AI-Core roles are responsible for creating and developing intelligent systems, including machine learning and GenAI engineers. AI-Adjacent roles apply AI in existing workflows, covering data engineers, cloud technologies, and cybersecurity. AI-Support roles help maintain AI-based systems by monitoring, auditing, and performing initial troubleshooting.
These levels demonstrate that the concept of an 'AI specialist' is not monolithic, as demand, salary levels, and growth opportunities vary significantly between them. Of the sixteen premium roles identified in the fields of AI, data, cloud platforms, and cybersecurity, four belong to AI-Core, and twelve belong to AI-Adjacent. Furthermore, no role is classified as AI-Support, which indicates a compression of the entry level in tech companies rather than a change in its compensation. Additionally, the skill base remains weak: only about 16% of IT professionals have AI skills, and while 20 lakh professionals have undergone upskilling, only about three lakh have mastered advanced AI skills.
Amid the shortage of skilled personnel, salary premiums are shifting towards AI-Core roles and product-critical engineering positions even at early career stages. For example, a GenAI developer (AI-Core) earns 11.2 lakh rupees per annum (LPA) with 0–2 years of experience, rising to 34.5 LPA with 6–8 years of experience. A data engineer (AI-Adjacent) increases their income from 9.1 LPA to 29.6 LPA, while a technical support specialist (AI-Support) earns between 5.2 LPA and 14.6 LPA.
At the 6–8 year mark, positions in GenAI, machine learning, and data science reach a level of 31–35 LPA, nearly double the salaries in AI-Support roles. This gap is projected to widen: the expected growth for GenAI developers in fiscal year 27–28 is 16.2%, for data engineers—12.0%, and for technical support specialists—6.6%.
Commenting on these findings, TeamLease Digital CEO Neeti Sharma stated that 'AI is changing the perception of what it means to be competent. Using AI tools is now a basic requirement; the market rewards the ability to create, deploy, and manage AI in a production environment.'