AI won't eliminate hands-on work, but India's broken education system may leave it unable to fill those jobs, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan warned, urging urgent reforms in how the country prepares its workforce.
India is charging toward an AI-driven future with a workforce that is poorly trained and, in many cases, undernourished, Rajan said in a podcast with entrepreneur Kushal Lodha.
He called for a national rethink on how India prepares its youth for work-starting with a clear-eyed focus on practical skills, not just academic degrees. "Some of the places where there are jobs require working with your hands," Rajan said. "In the age of AI, it still may be that the job of the plumber doesn't go away."
Rajan pointed to roles like plumbing and aircraft engine repair as examples of work that remains relevant and resistant to automation. But he warned that India's current education system is not equipping students with the basic skills-math, science, communication-to qualify for even these essential jobs.
He pushed back on the assumption that success must follow a traditional academic path. "I don't necessarily need a degree in French literature or in English literature," he said. "I'm happy to take a technical course in modern plumbing."
That shift in mindset, Rajan argued, must be matched by systemic change: more apprenticeships, greater respect for skilled trades, and a curriculum that balances theory with applied learning. "Being a plumber also requires entrepreneurship," he added. "You need to know how to price your services... what your costs are."
But Rajan didn't stop at skills. He drew a direct link between job readiness and early childhood development. "We are failing some of our kids even in childhood," he said, citing widespread malnutrition. Children who grow up stunted, he warned, are unlikely to meet the physical and cognitive demands of future work.
"If we want to become Viksit Bharat by 2047, we can't have 35 percent of the workforce in a precarious state," Rajan said. "Bringing down malnutrition has to be part of the answer."
