Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday dismissed investor concerns over the future of India’s IT sector as “ridiculous”, stressing that technology firms will play a central role in the growth of artificial intelligence.Speaking at the GEC event and responding to recent investor concerns, Piyush Goyal said, “Of late, I’m seeing in the stock market some discontentment about the future of the IT industry. I find it quite ridiculous. Because these are the companies who will be required for artificial intelligence to flourish.”His remarks come at a time when IT company shares have declined over the past fortnight, particularly after the launch of new AI platforms by US-based firms such as Anthropic.These developments have raised concerns about the future relevance of India’s nearly $300-billion IT sector, which directly employs around 50 lakh people.Goyal countered those fears, citing areas such as cybersecurity and data scrubbing, where he said Indian IT firms would continue to play a vital role as AI adoption expands.On trade negotiations, the minister further said that India has signed nine agreements with different countries or blocs in recent years, including the pact with the US.“We have finalised all the sensitivities that need to be protected. Our farmers are fully protected. Our MSMEs are fully protected, not a single farmer will have cause for complaint once the full text is out,” Goyal assured.He added that all aspects of trade agreements are discussed extensively with concerned ministries, the private sector and other stakeholders, which, he said, explains the absence of protests against recent deals.Goyal also said India has safeguarded the interests of farmers, the dairy sector and MSMEs in its trade agreement with the United States, adding that the full text has not yet been made public to “pre-empt” the final version.
