Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], December 9 (ANI): Emphasising the role of skilled workers in the AI era, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra on Tuesday said the future belongs to makers, not just managers.

Speaking at the Telangana Rising Global Summit 2025, Anand Mahindra talked about his role as the Chairman of Board of Governors for the Young India Skills University (YISU).

He said they are emphasizing that 'blue collar is the new gold collar.'

'We are living through a digital tsunami. Artificial Intelligence dominates global conversations, and it's often accompanied by fear. Fear of what AI and the future will bring. But I want to take a contrarian view as I believe that the more digital the world becomes, the more valuable the human touch will be,' he said.

'We are preparing a workforce that is not threatened by AI but which is going to be indispensable despite AI,' he added.

Highlighting the sustained impact of human touch even in the age of AI, Anand Mahindra said, 'As AI inevitably absorbs the repetitive and the routine, value shifts to what machines cannot replace which is the skill of the hand, the intuition of the craftsperson, the empathy of the caregiver and the problem solving grit of the technician.'

Talking about the challenges that the fast emerging economies are facing in the recent times, Anand Mahindra laid stress on skilled real world talent.

'They have a surplus of managers, but they have a shortage of makers. Nations are built not only on the cloud but firmly on the ground,' he said.

He hailed Telangana's forthcoming development blueprint as one of the 'most ambitious and genuinely people-centric visions' he has encountered globally.

He underscored that the vision was 'co-created' with citizens and experts, rather than written in isolation.

He commended Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and his team for designing a framework centered on youth empowerment, women as economic leaders, and sustainability as a foundational principle. (ANI)