India's IT Sector Faces Uncertainty Amid Global Slowdown and AI Fears

India's information technology sector, a 30-year wealth engine for the country, is at crossroads. A brutal sell-off triggered by weak global cues, Accenture's cautious commentary, and broader anxiety about AI disruption has left investors scrambling for answers. For Daljeet Kohli, an independent market expert, the answer is simple, stay out.

"The jury is still out": Why Kohli has zero IT exposure

Kohli has held a bearish view on the sector for several months and is not softening his stance. His core concern is not that Indian IT companies will disappear, he is clear they won't, but the sector's defining characteristic, growth, is missing. "My style of investment is basically growth and that is going to be missing here," he told ET Now, adding that the exaggerated market reaction to every piece of weak data signals how deeply investors distrust the sector's near-term trajectory.

The Accenture numbers, which spooked the market, were not catastrophic in isolation. But Kohli argues that the severity of the reaction reflects a deeper consensus: the growth trajectory for Indian IT majors over the next few years looks structurally challenged. While some niche players and those who successfully pivot to AI-led services may survive and thrive, he warns that identifying those winners right now is nearly impossible. "Who will survive — the jury is still out."

"When a sector goes out of reckoning, it takes a very long time. Equity markets are all about the future, and we are very clear this sector will take very long to stabilise," says Kohli.

Jio's IPO: Value unlocking, not a cash crunch

Shifting to the other headline of the day, Reliance Jio's DRHP has hit the market, a fresh issue of 27 crore shares that has reignited debate about where the proceeds will go. Kohli's read is that this is less about raising emergency capital and more about strategic value unlocking.

Telecom is a permanently capital-hungry business, he notes, with constant technological upgradation, AI integration, app ecosystems, and a fierce two-player competition with Bharti Airtel all demand ongoing investment. But the IPO's deeper purpose, in his view, is to give investors a clean, direct vehicle to bet on India's telecom story without the baggage of Reliance's oil refining and retail businesses. "If somebody wants to play only the telecom business and not the traditional businesses, then this will give an opportunity," Kohli said.

For long-suffering Reliance shareholders who have watched the stock stagnate, the listing could be the catalyst the market has been waiting for -separating Jio's high-growth digital narrative from the conglomerate's legacy valuation drag.