EngageTech

To mitigate the risks of job displacement and societal disruption posed by AI , Ravi Pandit identifies several "clean industry" sectors that have the potential to create millions of new jobs. He suggests that as AI takes over conventional roles in coding and management, human effort should be redirected into the following fields: Green Energy and Hydrogen: There are "tremendous energy jobs" expected to emerge, particularly in the development of a hydrogen ecosystem. Specifically, the production of biohydrogen from biomass could significantly boost agricultural income and create millions of jobs in rural and industrial sectors. Education : A shift in the educational framework is required to move from a potential "demographic disaster" to a "demographic dividend". Pandit notes that "a lot of education jobs" will be needed to prepare the workforce for an AI-driven world. Healthcare : This is identified as one of the "five si...

During major strategic pivots, such as the transition from a generalist IT firm to a specialized automotive software company, KPIT handles employee retention through a combination of cultural stewardship, shared purpose, and long-term financial incentives. The following strategies are highlighted in the sources: 1. The "Daughter's Marriage" Approach to Transitions When KPIT executed its major pivot to become "a mile deep and inch wide" in automotive software, it required moving approximately 60% of its workforce to a different company, Birlasoft . Ravi Pandit describes this transition as being handled with the care of "getting your daughter married" . Leadership spent considerable time with the new owners to understand their culture and ensure that the departing employees would be "safe" and "happy" in their new environment. 2. Infusing Work with Meaning and Purpose A core tenet of KPIT's retention strategy is putting ...

KPIT’s strategy to lead in hydrogen and sodium batteries is driven by a commitment to sustainability , a desire for national energy independence , and a "mile deep" focus on specialized research and development. 1. Leading in Sodium Batteries KPIT began working on sodium battery technology approximately six years ago, anticipating that the world would eventually seek alternatives to lithium-ion batteries to avoid over-dependence on specific countries, notably China. Their plan includes: Technological Achievement: KPIT successfully built India's first sodium battery and developed the underlying technology in-house. Commercialisation through Licensing: Rather than manufacturing the batteries themselves, they have licensed the technology to a large Indian private company to bring these batteries to the market. Performance and Cost Targets: KPIT is targeting a performance level of 190 Wh/kg and a cost of less than $50 per kilowatt hour , which would make it a high...

  KPIT pivoted to become "a mile deep and inch wide" in automotive software because its leadership was committed to being a global leader rather than an "also-ran" in the general IT services market . The decision was driven by the following strategic factors: 1. Lack of Leadership in General IT When KPIT reached approximately $700 million in revenue with 14,000 employees, it was operating across multiple verticals, including banking, financial services, manufacturing, and logistics. Leadership realised that in most of these sectors, there were competitors whose single-sector revenues exceeded KPIT’s entire company revenue. They concluded they were not the leaders in those fields and were dissatisfied with being a generalist firm. 2. The Opportunity in Automotive Software At the time of the pivot, KPIT’s automotive work accounted for about $200 million of its revenue. Leadership recognised that the automotive industry was undergoing a fundamental transformat...

Ravi Pandit ( KPIT Founder ) identifies three levels of risk that AI poses to humanity, ranging from individual cognitive decline to broader societal and philosophical challenges: 1. Dumbing Down the Population The first level of risk is that AI may "dumb us down" by causing humans to offload essential cognitive tasks to machines. Pandit provides several examples of this: Memory Loss: People no longer remember telephone numbers because they have "delegated" that memory to computers. Loss of Basic Skills : Calculation abilities, such as knowing multiplication tables, are being lost as people rely on technology. Mechanised Thinking : As computers begin to understand broad instructions (talking to them "like an adult"), the fundamental skill of coding—which requires precise logic—may diminish among humans. 2. Disruption of Society The second level involves the disruption of social and economic structures . Key concerns include: Income Disparity : ...

Policy vs Innovation Matrix Policy vs Innovation Matrix that shows the structural difference between policy intent and actual innovation output — and how India’s model is transforming to match global innovation systems . From Paper Policies to Product Power 🧱 Traditional Indian Model (Old System) Policy Layer Reality Innovation Outcome Policy Vision Strong national policies Vision without execution pipelines Funding Govt-dominated funding Limited capital availability Risk Culture Risk-averse systems No deep-tech experimentation Research Academic publications Low commercialization Industry Role Minimal R&D involvement Weak private innovation Infrastructure Limited labs & compute Research bottlenecks Talent High-quality brains Brain drain Commercialisation Weak tech transfer Research stays in journals Scale Fragmented schemes No national scale impact Speed Slow approvals Innovation delays Result: ➡ Policy existed ➡ Innovation did not scale ➡ Research stayed inside institutions ...