Gen AI picks up Indian languages, top tech skills for 2024, and more

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Two startups this month said ‘aye, aye’ to large language models — upon which generative AI applications are built — trained in Indian languages.?Meet Ola’s AI model Krutrim, which is trained on Indian languages, and SarvamAI’s Hindi LLM OpenHathi-Hi-v0.1. They aren’t alone.?

The wave of India-focused LLMs has been sweeping across the country —? with Soket Labs’ plans for LLM Pragna trained on 23 Indian languages and English, CoRover.ai’s BharatGPT, which supports 14 Indian languages, and Tech Mahindra’s announcement of The Indus Project, an open-source LLM focused on 40 dialects in Hindi in its first phase. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also unveiled Bhashini, an AI-based language translation tool for Indian languages which enables real-time translation.

“Multilingual LLMs, particularly for a linguistically diverse nation like India, are a groundbreaking step,” says Navveen Balani , Managing Director and Chief Technologist - Technology Sustainability Innovation at Accenture. He adds that these LLMs have the potential to transform education in rural areas, help safeguard India’s linguistic diversity, and revolutionise access to technology if integrated into mobile and edge computing platforms.

??Read Navveen’s article on navigating the complexities of multilingual LLMs

According to Vidhi Chugh , Head of Product Management - AI/ML at Reltio, LLMs in Indian languages are a win-win for us — the “build in India” movement will provide employment opportunities for technology developers, as well as all the participants in the value chain of such a technology stack.

What do these employment opportunities look like for tech professionals??

With the potential of LLMs in Indian languages to transform sectors like government, healthcare, and education, new roles in data creation and annotation, AI auditing and ethics, and language processing will emerge, says AmitKumar Shrivastava , Head, Artificial Intelligence Unit, India at Fujitsu. “It reflects a need for field work, incentivising data owners and professionals in AI, linguistics, creative writing, and to develop and apply AI tools across various sectors and departments,” he adds.

??Read AmitKumar’s article on developing LLMs for India’s linguistic diversity

Engineers have the opportunity to develop specialised skills that blend technical expertise with a deep understanding of linguistic diversity, says Navveen Balani , Managing Director and Chief Technologist - Technology Sustainability Innovation at Accenture.

Ethical AI and bias elimination should be a priority in the field, says Balani, which is essential to build models that are inclusive without perpetuating stereotypes or biases.

The path to building LLMs for India

Cost and competition with global AI companies make the path tougher, say experts. “It?is a capital-intensive task and there’s no short route to profitability,”? Sachin Arora , Partner and National Head – Digital Lighthouse (Cloud, Data and AI) at KPMG India told The Economic Times.

“The success of India hinges on building cheaper and energy-efficient chips to build the next generation of AI models,” says Chugh. She adds that we need increased R&D funding and need to facilitate a platform for brainpower to come together through extensive collaboration between academia, industry, and government.

The process also poses architectural challenges, according to Balani — like the intricate grammar and cultural nuances of Indian languages, with their layered complex sentence structures and script diversities.

But these models hold the promise to preserve our rich language culture and enhance our digital infrastructure — much like how UPI transformed the financial landscape, he adds. “Multilingual Large Language Models are more than just a technological leap, they can be the bridge connecting India's rich linguistic heritage to the future,” he signs off.

What are the potential applications for generative AI in Indian languages and what opportunities will it open up for tech professionals? Share your take using #TechWrapIndia.

Even as overall hiring remains muted in the IT sector, demand for functional skills like development, enterprise resource planning, automotive design, and testing and administration is going strong, reports the Economic Times, citing Quess Corp. Java and .NET still dominate the demand, with sectors like banking, consulting, technology, telecom, and automotive seeking talent skilled in them.

Fresher demand is also up in sectors like engineering, manufacturing, healthcare, and retail, and firms are looking for skills around data engineering, Power BI, Network Engineering, cybersecurity and UI/UX, adds the report. Generative AI skills are also taking centre stage, with IT firms investing billions of dollars and upskilling thousands of employees in the technology.

“Two years ago we used to say ‘Every company will be an AI company’, but now it is ‘Every company will be a Gen AI company,” says Aditi Chaurasia , co-founder and COO at Supersourcing. Along with generative AI, technologies like AI, ML, automation, cyber security, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), and quantum computing will create new jobs in the next three years.

??Read Aditi’s post on upskilling in in-demand technologies

“GenAI will become an Excel-like phenomenon in 2024, and perhaps not knowing or understanding it for your own or company's good might put you in a tight spot,” says Mayank Kumar , Co-founder and MD at upGrad.?

However, while AI is reshaping operations across most industries, Digital, Green and Care remain the top 3 domains which will witness maximum growth and restructuring, he adds.

??Read Mayank’s post on the trends to watch out for in the coming months

In the space tech sector, the trend towards smaller, more cost-effective satellites is accelerating, says Awais Ahmed , founder and CEO at Pixxel. “This shift opens up opportunities for engineers and technicians skilled in miniaturised satellite design, lightweight materials, and efficient propulsion systems,” he adds. According to him, there's also a growing need for network engineers, cybersecurity experts, and specialists in satellite communication systems.

??Read Awais’ post on the trends shaping space tech

According to Sumit Sabharwal , Vice President-HR at Fujitsu, demand for skills in cloud computing, 5G optimisation and application development, and certifications and prowess in the 3S- Salesforce, ServiceNow, and SAP will shape jobs in 2024. He also emphasises the need for soft skills like adaptability, communication, and problem-solving.

??Read Sumit’s post on the tech trends shaping jobs in 2024

???? Muthulakshmi N , Entrepreneur in residence and product leader at Tata Consultancy Services, shares the opportunities and challenges in the tech space:

?? Co-founder at Tremis Capital Pushkar Singh shares his insights on fundraising for new founders:

Reported by: Isha Chitnis

Community Manager: Rakshit Ravindranathan