Shark Tank India's Anupam Mittal calls India's gig economy a 'blessing', warns against 'blindly parroting' the West amid AI hype

In a single photo of a female delivery valet in a jacket riding a scooter, Anupam Mittal may have captured the vast divide between India’s tech aspirations and its everyday realities. The Shaadi.com founder took to LinkedIn to raise a question both biting and urgent: “Should she learn Python too?” The post, laced with sarcasm and social insight, isn’t just a critique of AI hype—it’s a reality check on India’s workforce, its limitations, and the romanticised notion of deep-tech as a universal solution.

Mittal, who has long been vocal about the need for sustainable employment in India, pointed out that while AI automation is transforming workplaces at top tech giants like Microsoft, Meta, and Google—with leaders predicting 40–50% of processes becoming AI-driven in just a few years—India’s situation is vastly different. According to him, these Western economies have low populations, high levels of formal employment, and robust reskilling systems. India, in contrast, has a largely self-employed population and lacks widespread skilling infrastructure.

Drawing from his own experience working in the U.S., Mittal said real skilling meant being trained in real time across an entire organisation whenever new tech was introduced. India, he argues, isn’t even close to that level of preparedness.

Which is why, he said, the gig economy—often criticised for being precarious—has been a “blessing” in the Indian context, employing millions who would otherwise remain jobless in a country that houses nearly 20% of the world’s population.

He warned against blindly parroting the West’s AI-first narrative, noting that doing so risks further marginalising India’s massive low-skilled workforce. He acknowledged that Indian does have incredibly talented individuals who will build the tech giants of tomorrow. However, the country also has a billion-plus people who still need jobs today.