India’s next economic decade won’t be built by metros alone as tier-2 and tier-3 cities become engines of growth: LinkedIn India Head Kumaresh Pattabiraman

This conversation took place on the sidelines of charcha 2025 by the*spark forum where LinkedIn India Head Kumaresh Pattabiraman discussed how opportunity can be decentralised for true economic mobility and a Viksit Bharat.

charcha forum | By special arrangement

Q1. India’s economic energy is shifting beyond the metros. What signals do you see about how talent, entrepreneurship, and opportunity are taking shape in Tier-2 and Tier-3 India? And what does this mean for the country’s next decade of growth?

India’s growth story is no longer a metro monopoly. You can see it in the data, but more importantly, you can feel it in the decisions business leaders are making. Job openings in Tier-2 cities on LinkedIn have grown 42% in six months, outpacing metros by more than double. And the strongest in-demand skills in these markets today include Docker, Python and SQL on the tech side, and change management, CRM, and analytics on the non-tech side.

When I travel to Indore or Coimbatore today, the conversation isn’t “when will opportunity come here?” It’s “how fast can we grow what we’ve started?” Because return migration is bringing seasoned talent back home from metro cities or other countries. GCCs are setting up in places like Vadodara because the depth of skill is already there. And cities like Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, and Coimbatore are becoming real engines of India’s innovation story. The next decade will not be metro-led growth alone. It will be a connected India story where ambition is local, opportunity is distributed, and growth comes from places that were once considered off the main map.

Q2. Aspiration is abundant across non-metro India, but access isn’t. What are the structural gaps that still prevent young professionals in smaller cities from converting ambition into true economic mobility?

Ambition is not India’s challenge. Access is. And the cost of this access gap is rising. Job skills in India have already shifted 36% since 2016; expected to change by 70% in 2030. For a young professional in a smaller city, that shift can feel like trying to catch a moving train.

Networks deepen this divide. Women in India are 14% less likely to have strong professional networks, and that gap becomes sharper in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. But networks are also powerful accelerators. Our research shows that 40% of working women in India have landed a new job or grown in their career with support from their professional network or community. This shows how strongly networks shape mobility and why unequal access to them matters. And for first-generation professionals, the absence of mentors, industry exposure and social proof limits their trajectory. That’s why digital identity and trusted professional networks like LinkedIn play such a critical role today. When people can clearly signal their skills, build the right connections and access credible opportunities online, their career path is no longer limited by the city they come from.

Q3. With AI reshaping how every industry operates, India needs a workforce that can adapt as fast as technology evolves. What must India build at a national scale to create a skills-first, future-ready talent base?

AI is changing what it means to be job-ready. By 2030, an estimated 70 percent of the skills required for many jobs today will look different. India needs a workforce that can adapt at that speed.

A skills-first model can unlock that shift. Our data shows that a skills-first lens can expand India’s talent pool by 12x and open 29% more opportunities for women who are often screened out by traditional filters. But India will also need three national capabilities to support this transformation: strong skills intelligence that helps people see the roles they can transition into, trusted digital identity that allows talent to signal potential confidently, and coordinated learning ecosystems that link industry, government, and youth development organisations. This is one of the reasons our work with the*spark forum at charcha 2025 is important because it focuses on expanding access to learning, mentorship, and opportunity in the cities where the next generation is already building its future. 

Q4. India’s 70 million SMBs are entering a decisive growth moment. What do you believe are the new capabilities they must develop to compete effectively, not just locally, but in a rapidly modernising global economy?

SMBs are at the heart of India’s economic engine, and what stands out in our insights is that their optimism is backed by action. Our latest India SMB research shows that 92% expect strong growth as they reorganise how they operate to survive and thrive. The most successful SMBs are building three capabilities. They rely on AI-powered operations that improve efficiency and decision quality, invest in talent practices that encourage a continuous learning mindset for digital fluency, and operate within trusted digital ecosystems where they can hire, market and sell without friction.

This is where LinkedIn’s value is often most tangible. For small business owners, LinkedIn has the right network, the right clients, and the right talent, all in one place. The most successful SMBs are the ones using integrated networks to find customers, hire effectively and compete with larger players through intelligence rather than scale.

Q5. AI is moving from being a tool to becoming the operating backbone of how SMBs hire, market, sell, and run their businesses. How do you see this shift transforming the growth trajectory of Indian SMBs in the coming decade?

AI is giving SMBs real-time clarity. Already, 65% of India’s SMBs use AI to sharpen customer outreach and decision-making, and 86% say these tools have increased their confidence in achieving growth. As AI integrates hiring, marketing and sales into a single growth engine, small businesses can operate with the precision of much larger enterprises.

But technology alone isn’t the differentiator, trust is. With 95% of SMBs prioritising platform credibility when choosing digital partners, the next decade will belong to businesses that combine AI-driven intelligence with networks built on verified identity and trusted relationships. That is where India’s SMB revolution will truly accelerate.

Q6. When you think about Viksit Bharat @2047, what is the foundational infrastructure India must build to ensure that opportunity can truly be decentralised and democratised?

Viksit Bharat will not be defined by GDP targets alone. It will depend on whether opportunity can travel as freely as ambition. Today, only 45% of professionals in India are considered employable for the skills companies need, and 69% of recruiters say the gap is widening, especially outside the metros. That is the real barrier to shared prosperity.

To bridge it, India must build four foundations that help the country R.I.S.E – Resilient skills shaped by AI-era needs. Identity and trust so talent and businesses can participate with confidence. Seamless integration across the digital systems that power our labour market. Equal access to learning and networks in every fast-growing city.

If India strengthens these foundations, a young professional in Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Kochi or Rajkot can realistically compete on the same footing as someone in a metro city. That is the real promise of Viksit Bharat, and it is the future LinkedIn is committed to supporting through the network that works for you.

charcha 2025, an initiative by the*spark forum, will be held at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi, from November 12–14, 2025. To know more, visit: charcha25.thespark.org.in