A Structural Shift in the Indian Job Market
Renowned investor and Marcellus Investment Managers founder Saurabh Mukherjea has issued a stark warning about the future of employment in India. Speaking on a podcast on April 20, 2025, he proclaimed that the “Salaryman Era”—defined by stable, long-term corporate employment—is nearing its end. According to Mukherjea, the rise of artificial intelligence and automation is fundamentally altering the nature of work, particularly for mid-level professionals.
“Middle management is being replaced by AI,” he noted, highlighting that major global tech firms, including Google, now rely on AI to generate a significant portion of their code. This trend is quickly spreading across Indian industries such as information technology, finance, and media. Mukherjea warned that jobs focused on process oversight or routine execution are becoming increasingly obsolete, urging the middle class to rethink traditional ideas of job security.
From Job Seekers to Job Creators
In a call for a cultural transformation, Saurabh Mukherjea emphasized that Indian society needs to shift its long-standing obsession with fixed salaries and job titles. He argued that families should stop grooming children to be passive job-seekers and instead nurture risk-taking and creativity.
“Entrepreneurship is no longer a luxury—it’s a necessity,” he asserted, suggesting that the current economic climate demands a move from an employee mindset to a creator mindset. Saurabh Mukherjea pointed out that automation is not just disrupting jobs but redefining the nature of work itself, making entrepreneurship a more viable and often necessary path for economic resilience.
He called on the Indian middle class to embrace this transition by investing in new skills, exploring alternative income streams, and adopting a long-term vision for self-reliance.
JAM Trinity and the Rise of Grassroots Entrepreneurs
Saurabh Mukherjea also highlighted how the JAM trinity—Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar identification, and Mobile connectivity—has created a fertile ground for digital entrepreneurship. These platforms have democratized access to markets, facilitated easy digital payments via UPI, and built trust in online transactions through Aadhaar-based verification. Together, they offer a robust infrastructure that enables small-scale businesses to grow with minimal overhead.
He urged aspiring entrepreneurs to leverage these tools to tap into growing opportunities in sectors like e-commerce, edtech, personal finance, and digital content. Saurabh Mukherjea emphasized that individuals must now take charge of their economic futures by reskilling in areas such as artificial intelligence, digital branding, product management, and sales.
This message is particularly relevant for fresh graduates from Tier 2 and Tier 3 institutions, as well as mid-career professionals in sectors vulnerable to automation. As India undergoes this workforce transformation, Mukherjea’s insights serve as both a warning and a roadmap. He envisions a future where India’s middle class leads a grassroots entrepreneurial revolution—but only if it has the courage to abandon outdated notions of job security and embrace the uncertain, yet potentially rewarding, path of self-driven enterprise.
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