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In June 2026, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) adopted the Decent Work in the Platform Economy Convention, 2026. The Convention introduced standards for platform work and prompted broader questions about sectors like data work. As a major hub for outsourcing and services such as data work, India is uniquely positioned to address the labour issues associated with the platform economy and AI value chains. So far, much of India’s AI policy has treated data work primarily as an economic opportunity and enabler for the AI boom, but is yet to explicitly intervene in the sector’s labour issues.

The artificial intelligence (AI) sector requires data work (DW) to support the development, deployment, and functioning of AI products. Data workers, by labeling images and providing language data, make important contributions to segments like generative AI, self-driving cars, and robotics. A 2023 World Bank report estimated that the online gig economy hosted between 154 million and 435 million workers. A part of this number is likely to include data workers. Despite its value to AI firms, data work is associated with several labour issues, such as low levels of pay, psychological risks

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty.and appropriate compensation of unpaid labour. Beyond developments like the ILC, it is vital that the expanding gamut of domestic AI policy address the technology’s labour considerations.

India is a major player in the AI boom, being a sizeable consumer market, a seeker of AI solutions, and a veteran outsourcing hub. Data work provides AI firms with data from non-English or “low-resource” languages, enabling AI development and adoption in India. While the Indian state has broached data work, in forms like annotation, these discussions have lacked more direct responses to labour issues and questions of better business practices.

India yet to closely examine the sector’s labour issues

While lacking a central Act, India has engaged extensively with AI policy and AI actors. Key developments include the 2026 India AI Impact Summit and its resulting Declaration, the 2025 India AI Governance Guidelines (AIGG25), the commencement of the IndiaAI Mission,........

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