India faces a lower risk of AI-driven disruption to cognitive jobs compared to Western economies, IT Secretary S Krishnan has said, citing the country's relatively lower proportion of white-collar roles in the overall workforce, and highlighted that the dominance of STEM-based employment can yield newer opportunities. Krishnan said AI's (Artificial Intelligence) real impact will come from building and deploying sector and use-specific applications, a process that will require large numbers of trained professionals. He added that this is where India's strength lies and where new AI-driven job opportunities will emerge. "... For India, where the number of white-collar jobs relative to other jobs is much lower than in the West, this risk to cognitive jobs, I don't think, is as serious as it is in other places. Also, the fact that most of our white-collar jobs are in the STEM space and... means that we have an opportunity...," Krishnan told PTI in an interview, as he weighed in on the AI