Davos 2026: India's single biggest agenda should be creating jobs, says Andhra IT Minister Nara Lokesh

India's foremost economic priority should be job creation, Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos. He argued that employment must remain the central focus as the country scales up manufacturing and technology-led growth.

"I believe that single agenda that India should have...is creating jobs, and that's it," Lokesh told Business Today Group Editor Siddharth Zarabi. "With that single agenda we're working, we are very focused on executing projects, ensuring that they deliver on the promise of creating jobs in the field."

Speaking on the sidelines of the WEF, Lokesh said India's growth story must be anchored in employment outcomes, even as technology reshapes the nature of work. He pointed to the country's experience over the past two decades. He said: "India has been the biggest beneficiary of the IT revolution."

Lokesh acknowledged that technological change is replacing some roles while creating new ones, and stressed the importance of preparing the workforce early. "Countries that adopt, that embrace education ministers, that create good curriculum, expose children from a very young age to the power of AI, and capture their imagination. I believe (AI) can really create next-generation job," he said.

The Andhra Pradesh IT Minister said the state has positioned itself at the forefront of this transition by actively embracing shifts in the technology sector. He cited a major investment announcement made last year as an example of that momentum.

In October, Google announced an investment of approximately $15 billion in India over the next five years, along with the company's first Artificial Intelligence hub in Visakhapatnam. The move was seen as a strong endorsement of Andhra Pradesh's digital infrastructure and its ability to attract global technology companies.

At WEF 2026, Lokesh did not reveal any big tech names for future collaboration, but we expect that Google is just the beginning, and we may see other major tech companies partner with the state government to create a large-scale digital workforce.