Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal's Vision for AI in India
Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal' acknowledged AI's potential to automate routine tasks, which might lead to job displacement but also create new employment opportunities.
image for illustrative purpose
In a recent interview with ANI, Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal shared his belief that India has the potential to become a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI).
He emphasised the transformative impact AI could have on productivity and job creation within the country.
Aggarwal highlighted India's large pool of IT professionals and young talent currently serving global clients, suggesting AI could make them significantly more productive.
“In India, there are tens of millions of IT services professionals, young people and all of that. Now, today they are doing some work for global clients. Their work can be 10x more productive. That means not to get jobs that will be one tenth. That means that we can bring 10x more jobs to India,” he said.
He acknowledged AI's potential to automate routine tasks, which might lead to job displacement but also create new opportunities.
Regarding job impacts, Aggarwal predicted white-collar roles would see the most change in the next five years, with less impact on blue-collar jobs due to current AI limitations in physical tasks.
He also mentioned Krutrim, an AI model he developed, designed to reflect Indian cultural nuances. Launched in early 2024, it supports 22 languages.
Aggarwal stressed the need for India to embrace AI leadership to enhance economic productivity and create future job opportunities globally.
During his interview, he urged the media, bureaucrats, business leaders, and government officials to collectively embrace the implications of AI.
“And we as a country, and as different elements of civil society, be it businessmen or media or bureaucrats or politicians or government, everybody has to really think strategically about AI. Because while there is a risk, there is also an opportunity,” Aggarwal said,
His comments underscore how AI will affect sectors involving desk-based and service-oriented jobs.
Recently, Ola has moved from using Google Maps to Ola Maps, which will save the company Rs 100 crore a year..
Bhavish Aggarwal took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to announce the same.
“After Azure exit last month, we’ve now fully exited google maps. We used to spend ₹100 cr a year but we’ve made that 0 this month by moving completely to our in house Ola maps! Check your Ola app and update if needed. Also, Ola maps API available on @Krutrim cloud! Many more features coming soon - street view, NERFs, indoor images, 3D maps, drone maps etc!” he wrote on his X handle.
