On this page · 10 sections
- What is confirmed about NTLF 2027
- Nasscom's numbers: FY22, FY25 and FY26 as published
- Five things the numbers say
- What the numbers do not tell you
- What India's IT leaders are likely to debate at NTLF 2027
- What this means for CTOs buying IT services in 2027
- Worked example: testing a vendor's AI productivity claim
- How to follow NTLF 2027 from your desk
- How eCorpIT can help
- References
Summary. The 35th Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum (NTLF) runs on Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 February 2027 at the Fairmont, Mumbai, according to Nasscom's own event page. Four pillars are published, three framed around AI, but no session agenda or 2027 speaker list yet. The data to argue over comes from Nasscom's 2026 Strategic Review: $315 billion of FY26 industry revenue, up 6.1% from a restated $297 billion, with exports of $246 billion, about 135,000 net hires and $10 to 12 billion of AI revenue, or 3.2% to 3.8% of the total. In February 2022 Nasscom set a $350 billion target for FY26; the industry landed $35 billion short, even on a wider base. For FY27, Nasscom projects technology spending growth of 5% to 7% and describes a move towards outcome-based pricing, but its public material gives no FY27 revenue estimate. If the last two years' pattern holds, that arrives around 24 February 2027. Our verdict for CTOs: treat the forum as negotiating data, and put AI pass-through, outcome pricing and skills evidence into 2027 renewals. Early-bird tickets end on 30 November 2026.
About this article. This is for CTOs, CIOs and procurement leads who buy from Indian IT services firms or run a global capability centre (GCC). We checked event details and figures on 1 November 2026 against Nasscom's NTLF page, its 2022, 2025 and 2026 Strategic Review press releases and its 2026 executive summary; press reports are named. Industry figures are Nasscom's estimates; shares and ratios are our calculations. This is not financial or procurement advice, and no sponsor or vendor paid for inclusion. Researched with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team.
What is confirmed about NTLF 2027
Nasscom's event page carries the essentials, and its events list and its events account on X match it. Status on 1 November 2026:
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Edition | 35th, confirmed |
| Dates | Wednesday 24 and Thursday 25 February 2027, from 9 am, confirmed |
| Venue | Fairmont, Mumbai, confirmed |
| Pillars | Four published, each with guiding questions |
| Session agenda | Not published |
| 2027 speakers | Not published; the page lists past speakers only |
| FY27 revenue estimate | Not public; the free Strategic Review summary gives a spending outlook only |
The page's register button leads to Explara, whose listing places the hotel at Mumbai airport. Nasscom says it honours only passes obtained through its own event website, so avoid other sellers.
Nasscom calls the forum India's premier platform for technology, innovation and leadership, running for over three decades. Its figures of 65,000+ delegates and 80+ countries state no period, so we read them as programme totals, not expected 2027 attendance. NTLF 2026, the 34th edition, ran on 24 and 25 February 2026 at the same hotel, according to sponsor KPMG.
The four published pillars
Each pillar is a set of questions, summarised here.
- The Intelligence Dividend (AI, strategy and competitive advantage). How AI reshapes global power, whether India can lead, and how nations build trusted, secure and sovereign AI.
- Enterprise AI (growth, value and reinvention). What customers will value in an AI-first world, and how enterprises, GCCs and technology providers must reinvent.
- The Human Equation (talent, leadership and judgement). Why the FDE role is becoming central (the page does not expand the term; it usually means forward deployed engineer), and how to govern and secure an AI workforce.
- The Next Frontier (science, deep tech and future innovation). Which longer-horizon technologies drive the next growth wave, and how nations build sovereign frontier capability.
Tickets and deadlines
Nasscom's fees per delegate, excluding 18% GST:
| Window | Member | Non-member |
|---|---|---|
| Early bird, 31 October to 30 November 2026 | ₹32,000 | ₹38,000 |
| Regular, 1 December 2026 to 22 February 2027 | ₹39,000 | ₹45,000 |
| Onsite, 23 to 25 February 2027 | ₹45,000 | ₹51,000 |
With GST, a non-member pays ₹38,000 × 1.18 = ₹44,840 at early bird and ₹45,000 × 1.18 = ₹53,100 at the regular fee, a difference of ₹8,260. Group discounts of 10% to 20%, for five or more registrations, apply to the regular fee only. The last date to cancel is 15 January 2027, with a 75% refund.
Nasscom's numbers: FY22, FY25 and FY26 as published
Nasscom publishes its annual estimate each February in its Strategic Review. The table compares three editions, in US dollars.
| Metric | FY2022 (Feb 2022 release) | FY2025E (Feb 2025 release) | FY2026E (Feb 2026 release) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total industry revenue | $227 bn | $282.6 bn | $315 bn |
| Annual growth | 15.5% | 5.1% | 6.1% |
| IT services | $116 bn | $137.1 bn | $149 bn |
| BPM | $44 bn | $54.6 bn | $59 bn |
| ER&D | $36 bn | $55.7 bn | $63 bn |
| Software products | $13 bn | $16.1 bn | $23 bn |
| Hardware | $17 bn | $19.2 bn | $21 bn |
| Exports | $178 bn | $224.4 bn | $246 bn |
| Domestic revenue | about $50 bn | $58.2 bn | $69 bn |
| Net hiring | about 450,000 | 126,000 | 135,000 |
| AI | Not reported | Not reported as revenue | $10 to 12 bn AI revenue; 2 mn+ upskilled in AI |
Read across releases with care. Nasscom restates its base. The 2025 release says GCC revenue and headcount were restated in September 2024 after a five-yearly study, with the change reflected across sub-sectors. The 2026 executive summary puts FY25 at $297.2 billion, against the $282.6 billion first published, and attributes the adjustment to final year-end disclosures and wider segment coverage as more firms met its data thresholds. That $14.6 billion revision is not far below FY26's whole increase of $18.2 billion ($315.4 billion minus $297.2 billion). PTI also reported FY25 net additions at 133,000, against 126,000 first published. Take growth rates from within a single release.
Five things the numbers say
1. Growth has reset to mid-single digits
FY2022 grew 15.5%, which Nasscom called the highest since 2011. FY2025 grew 5.1% and FY2026 6.1%. In February 2022 the industry set a target of $350 billion by FY26, at 11% to 14% annual growth. It reached $315 billion, $35 billion short, and the restatements mean the like-for-like gap is probably wider. Any new long-range target will be read against that miss.
2. Revenue is growing faster than headcount
Revenue grew 6.1% in FY26 and direct employment 2.3%, with 135,000 net additions taking it to about 6 million. Together, that implies revenue per employee rose roughly 1.061 / 1.023 - 1 = 3.7% (our calculation). Price, mix and currency move that figure as well as AI.
Net additions remain far below FY2022's approximately 450,000. Business Today reported that GCCs drove a large part of FY26 hiring and that campus hiring has fallen significantly. Nasscom expects FY27 hiring to shift from volume to skill mix, reflecting AI productivity gains passed through to clients.
3. AI revenue is real but still a small slice
$10 billion to $12 billion of AI revenue against $315 billion is 3.2% to 3.8%. Nasscom's Global End User CXO Survey, released with the 2026 review, found 86% of CXOs at technology buyers expect demand to stay stable or rise in CY26, 56% expect growth, and 90% are increasing the AI share of their digital budgets. On supply, Nasscom says over 2 million professionals were upskilled in AI, including 200,000 to 300,000 in advanced AI skills. Set against about 6 million staff, advanced skills reach roughly 3% to 5% of the workforce (our calculation).
4. The mix is moving towards engineering
Within each release's own total, ER&D rose from 15.9% of revenue in FY2022 ($36 bn of $227 bn) to 20.0% in FY2026 ($63 bn of $315 bn). IT services, still the largest segment, fell from 51.1% to 47.3%. Those shares straddle the restatement and the wider coverage, so part of the shift may be definitional.
The cleaner signal is within one year. Nasscom's summary puts FY26 export growth at 7.7% for ER&D, 7% for BPM, 4.1% for IT services and 4% for software products. It names GCCs and ER&D as growth engines, with cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud and GCC-as-a-service as niche engines.
5. Exports dominate, but domestic is growing faster
Exports were $246.4 billion of $315.4 billion in FY26, or 78.1%, almost the same as FY2022's 78.4% ($178 bn of $227 bn). Domestic revenue rose from $63.9 billion to $69.0 billion, about 8%, against 5.6% for exports. The 2026 release says APAC and the Middle East led export growth.
What the numbers do not tell you
- They are estimates from a trade body. Nasscom represents the industry it measures, marks current-year figures as estimates and later revises them. Its report disclaims warranty over third-party material.
- We read the summary, not the full report. The full Strategic Review lists at ₹50,000, so detail beyond the free summary and press releases is not reflected here.
- AI revenue is not defined. The release does not say whether the range counts AI-assisted delivery, AI products or both. PTI reported Nasscom President Rajesh Nambiar saying that not all companies report AI revenue, so treat it as an estimate.
- The FY27 range is not a revenue forecast. The 5% to 7% describes technology spending, not India's industry revenue.
- Industry averages hide spread. Nasscom expects FY27 growth to be segment-specific, with tier-1 and progressive mid-sized firms diverging, and says mid-tier firms outpaced top-tier peers. Your vendor's numbers matter more than the average.
What India's IT leaders are likely to debate at NTLF 2027
This section is our reading of the published pillars and Nasscom's data, not a published agenda.
The first FY27 number. Nasscom released its 2025 and 2026 reviews on 24 February, each on the first day of that year's forum. The 2022 release came out on 15 February, so this is a pattern, not a rule. If it holds, the FY27 estimate, any FY26 restatement and a new CXO survey land around 24 February 2027.
How to price AI-delivered work. Nasscom's summary says providers moved away from FTE-based delivery towards outcome-based, risk-sharing contracts as AI productivity materialised, and lists outcome-based pricing among FY27 strategies. Expect harder questions from buyers about who keeps productivity gains.
Hiring and roles. The Human Equation pillar takes this up directly. Nasscom's outlook names emerging roles such as AI reliability engineers, orchestrators and human-AI managers.
GCCs. The 2026 release says GCCs are moving from scale to strategic ownership across critical functions. The Nasscom and Zinnov landscape report counts 2,117 GCCs, about 2.36 million professionals and $98.4 billion of revenue as of FY26. For service providers that is both a competitor and a customer, which our GCC versus product partner guide works through.
Trust and sovereignty. In the February 2026 release, Nambiar tied India's position to cyber resilience and responsible AI. The first pillar adds sovereign AI. Our DPDP Act engineering playbook covers what India's data law means in code, and our note on IndiaAI GPU capacity through C-DAC covers the compute side.
Geopolitics and trade. Nasscom's FY27 priorities include managing trade uncertainty, addressing talent mobility risks and diversifying beyond the US. This is live: in October 2026 the US Department of Labor temporarily suspended certain IT companies, including Indian firms operating in the US, from filing new PERM applications. Nasscom responded that Indian firms have cut their H-1B dependence and that relatively few staff move to permanent residency through PERM. Our piece on the 2027 Geneva AI summit covers the diplomatic track.
What this means for CTOs buying IT services in 2027
The NTLF conversation turns into contract terms within a quarter or two. Use the table to prepare, and our guide to scoping AI agents from pilot to production for the delivery side. The third column draws on the sources above.
| If you are | Ask your vendor or team | Why, in Nasscom's own data |
|---|---|---|
| Renewing an application-maintenance contract | What share of AI productivity gains is passed through, and how is it measured? | Nasscom expects gains to pass through to clients; revenue per employee rose about 3.7% in FY26 |
| Buying an AI transformation programme | Which deliverables are outcome-priced, and which IP stays with you? | Nasscom describes outcome-based, risk-sharing contracts and IP-led solutions |
| Running or planning a GCC | Which functions move from execution to ownership, and what does the provider still do? | Nasscom says GCCs are moving from scale to strategic ownership |
| Scaling agentic AI | Who on the team holds advanced AI skills, beyond a training certificate? | 2 mn+ upskilled, but only 200,000 to 300,000 in advanced AI |
| In BFSI, healthcare or another regulated sector | What evidence shows cyber resilience and responsible AI in practice? | Nasscom puts trust and responsible AI at the centre of its 2026 message |
Worked example: testing a vendor's AI productivity claim
Illustrative numbers, not a benchmark. Suppose you pay ₹8 crore a year for application maintenance and the vendor says AI coding agents cut effort by 25%.
- Effort value of the claim: ₹8 crore × 25% = ₹2 crore a year.
- If the vendor passes through 50%: your price falls by ₹1 crore, or 12.5%, to ₹7 crore.
- Over a 3-year renewal: 3 × ₹1 crore = ₹3 crore saved at 50% pass-through, or 3 × ₹2 crore = ₹6 crore at 100%.
Nasscom's figures imply revenue per employee grew about 3.7% in FY26. The two numbers measure different things, and a 25% saving on a narrow scope is plausible in our judgement, but the gap is a reason to ask for evidence. Before signing, ask for a baseline: tickets closed per engineer, cycle time and defect escape rate for the last two quarters, then a quarterly review against them.
Also ask who pays for the AI tooling, because model and seat costs come off the saving. If tooling for the team costs an assumed ₹40 lakh a year and the vendor bills it to you, the 50% pass-through case nets ₹1 crore - ₹0.4 crore = ₹60 lakh a year, a 7.5% saving instead of 12.5%. If the vendor absorbs the tooling, your saving stays at ₹1 crore and the vendor's share falls from ₹1 crore to ₹60 lakh. Either is a fair deal; not knowing which one you signed is not. Our 2027 coding-model cost comparison covers the model side.
How to follow NTLF 2027 from your desk
- Check Nasscom's NTLF page for the agenda and speakers, and reconfirm details a week before 24 February 2027.
- Watch for the Strategic Review 2027 press release around the first day.
- Note total revenue, growth, the five segments, exports, headcount change, AI revenue and the CXO survey.
- Take growth rates from within the new release, and check whether FY26 has been restated from $315 billion.
- Compare the AI revenue figure with the FY26 range of $10 to 12 billion.
- Test any new long-range target against the missed $350 billion.
- Bring the pass-through and outcome-pricing questions to your next vendor review.
How eCorpIT can help
eCorpIT is a Gurugram-based technology organisation, founded in 2021, assessed at CMMI Level 5 and MSME certified, with senior-led engineering teams working across AWS, Microsoft and Google platforms. Our AI practice helps teams scope pilots, set measurable baselines and take agents and assistants to production, as set out on our artificial intelligence and machine learning services page. Talk to us at /contact-us/.
Last updated: 1 November 2026.
