Mastering AI: The New Language for India's Future Economy

K K RamachandranIn India, language has always been more than communication; it has been currency. English became the ladder that lifted generations into global careers, while Tamil, Hindi, and countless mother tongues root us in identity and culture.

Now, another “language” is demanding our attention — artificial Intelligence (AI) — the fluency of which is emerging as the passport to thrive in the future economy.Just as English is not the monopoly of literature professors, AI is no longer confined to data scientists in glass towers. From accountants in Coimbatore to entrepreneurs in Delhi, the ability to understand and apply AI is becoming foundational.

Take, for instance, the accountant who uses AI to flag irregular GST filings.

Or the marketing executive in Chennai deploying AI-driven insights to personalise campaigns for India’s 800 million smartphone users. Farmers in Tamil Nadu now consult AI-powered advisory tools that analyse soil and weather data, while hospitals in Madurai and Coimbatore rely on AI-assisted scans to speed up cancer detection.The point is simple: AI is not replacing professionals; it is augmenting them. Just as Excel became the invisible skill of the 1990s, AI literacy will be the invisible skill of the 2030s.

Those who remain unfamiliar risk being locked out of tomorrow’s economy.Globally, nations are racing to secure their place in the AI economy. India, too, has put its cards on the table. Nasscom projects that the Indian AI market will hit $17 billion by 2027, growing at over 25% annually. Earlier this year, the government launched the IndiaAI Mission with a ₹10,371 crore allocation, focusing on AI infrastructure, data repositories, and skill-building.Tamil Nadu has quietly built a first-mover advantage. The Tamil Nadu AI Mission (TNAIM) is piloting AI models in governance, healthcare, and agriculture. Coimbatore, once known only as the Manchester of South India is now experimenting with AI in textile quality checks, pump manufacturing, and precision engineering.It is tempting to dismiss AI as just another form of technology. More accurate and useful would be to think of it as a language.It lets us converse with data. An AI-literate person can ask sharper questions of information, much like speaking fluently in a new tongue. It orchestrates decisions. Where language helps humans coordinate, AI helps machines coordinate, at speeds no human can match. It demands ethics. Like any language, AI can mislead or empower, depending on how responsibly it is used.In this framing, the future belongs to those who can speak two languages fluently: the language of people (empathy, persuasion, culture) and the language of AI (data, algorithms, automation).AI is not a distant promise but a lived reality, provided we learn to ‘speak’ it.But like mastering any second language, learning AI is not without hurdles. Access and equity: While urban colleges are adopting AI quickly, rural schools often lack basic infrastructure. Without intervention, an ‘AI divide’ could mirror the digital divide of the 2000s. Curriculum gaps: AI is often an elective, when it should be woven into every discipline—commerce, psychology, law, arts, and beyond. Workforce re-skilling: McKinsey estimates that 50 million Indian jobs will be reshaped by automation by 2030. Many roles won’t vanish but will evolve, demanding reskilling at scale. Ethics and guardrails: As AI systems make decisions about loans, jobs, and even healthcare, India must ensure safeguards against bias and misuse. The proposed Digital India Act will play a critical role here.If AI is to be our second language, India must treat it like one.

Just as we expanded English-medium education, the country needs a National AI Literacy Mission. Every schoolchild, graduatees, and how to use it responsibly.Employers must treat AI training as essential as Excel. Universities must push projects that combine disciplines say, AI for sustainable textiles or AI for mental health research. Governments must embed AI into lifelong learning schemes so that older workers are not left behind.Tamil Nadu, with its strong higher education ecosystem and industry–academia links, is uniquely placed to lead this movement.Languages have always shaped India’s destiny. Sanskrit gave us our intellectual traditions, Tamil gave us cultural continuity, and English gave us a bridge to the global economy. Today, AI is the next language we must master.This is not about turning everyone into coders. It is about equipping citizens to think, converse, and create with AI, whether they are farmers in Erode, entrepreneurs in Coimbatore, or policymakers in Delhi.The world is moving towards a future where fluency in AI will separate not just competitive businesses but capable citizens. If India can ensure that its people speak two languages with equal ease—the language of people and the language of AI—it won’t just participate in the digital century. It will lead it.(The author is a global educator, fulbright scholar, writer andadvocate for education reforms)Email your feedbackto [email protected]