Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, told PTI in an interview that while AI now writes 30 % of the company’s code, a massive “tech debt” remains on the supply side in the industry, one that requires more engineers, software and applications as the company pushes to build for the future.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella had, in April this year, said as much as 30% of the Redmond, Washington-headquartered tech giant’s code is now written by artificial intelligence, or AI.
Chandok described India as “one of the most exciting markets in the world for technology and AI”.
“We, as Microsoft, are committed to India and we want to move the country forward,” he said.
As a multinational organisation with extensive footprint worldwide, the company sees economic ties as key to global growth and is deepening commitment to India through investments and skilling.
About the impact of global trade and tariff headwinds on business decisions, Chandok said, “We’re a multinational company. We operate in pretty much most countries in the world.”
He added, “We believe in economic ties that drive growth across the world. We’re committed to India more than ever, given the $3 billion investment, training 10 million people in the country, building institutions in India that are truly frontier firms.
Chandok was referring to Nadella’s announcement — during his India visit earlier this year — about company’s plans to invest $3 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure in the country, and skilling over the next two years, including the establishment of new data centres.
Microsoft has also pledged to support the country’s long-term competitiveness by training 10 million people over the next five years with AI skills.
Chandok noted that India is leading the world in AI-driven leadership transformation, as he drew on the India findings of the recent Microsoft 2025 Work Trend Index.
“I think there are multiple things that are standing out as you look at the research findings. The first is AI is real, I think India has moved from hype to value and there’s a real conversation around the productivity impact, the impact on top line, on bottom line,” Chandok said.
As per the index, Indian leaders are moving with confidence and urgency to integrate AI across their organisations, with 93% intending to use AI agents to extend workforce capabilities in the next 12-18 months.
“If you look at all the questions around AI adoption, AI excitement, agents in the workforce, for example, the question on how many companies are re-looking at their core strategy with AI, the global number is 82%, India is at 90%. So across the board, India is leading the pack, and that’s something we should all feel very energised about,” he said.