As Artificial Intelligence redefines every sector of the global economy, the challenge facing today’s institutions is not simply how to adapt to new technologies, but how to reimagine the very nature of work, talent, and leadership. Across industries, the traditional “education-job-retirement” trajectory is crumbling, replaced by a demand for continuous, adaptive learning and flexible capability ecosystems. And in India, one of the boldest and most comprehensive responses to this upheaval is unfolding quietly within the country’s civil service – Mission Karmayogi. In many ways, the talent disruption wrought by AI presents a paradox.

Machines now excel at routine, repeatable tasks. But the future belongs not to the most automated organizations, but to the most human ones. Critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethical judgment, and the ability to collaborate across complex systems are the new core competencies. Talent strategies must pivot from static job descriptions to fluid, role based capability architectures. Mission Karmayogi exemplifies this paradigm shift within the machinery of government itself. Conceived and launched by Prime Minister Modi in September 2020, Mission Karmayogi is a sweeping transformation of the public administration ecosystem. Its ambition is not just to reskill civil servants, but to completely rewire how government understands talent. Instead of defining roles by rigid rules, the programme emphasizes dynamic capability maps that align people with roles based on their evolving skills and performance.

Advertisement

This is precisely the kind of role-based approach that modern HR leaders across industries now champion. But Mission Karmayogi goes deeper. It seeks to transform the identity of the civil servant from ‘Karmachari’ – one who performs duties as a job – to a ‘Karmayogi’ – one who sees public service as a calling. This is more than semantics. It reflects a shift toward values-driven, human-centered institutions that echo the broader call across sectors to move from........

© The Statesman