Once seen as the golden ticket to stability and respect, the traditional white-collar job is vanishing in India—and no one is ready to talk about it. Market guru Saurabh Mukherjea, founder of Marcellus Investment Managers, just dropped a truth bomb that’s shaking the core of India’s middle-class aspirations.
In a recent podcast titled Beyond the Paycheck: India’s Entrepreneurial Rebirth, Mukherjea didn’t mince words. “We are witnessing the death of salaried employment as a rewarding path,” he said. The culprit? A deadly mix of automation and a collapsing middle-management layer.
Sectors like IT, media, and finance—once hubs of cushy white-collar jobs—are being transformed by artificial intelligence. Google, for example, claims that one-third of its coding is now done by AI. The ripple effect is hitting India hard, where similar roles are evaporating.
And it’s not just entry-level positions. The middle-management cushion—once a ladder to long-term success—is disappearing. “The 30-year job tenure our parents boasted about? It’s over,” said Mukherjea.
But this isn’t all doom and gloom. Instead, Mukherjea sees a new wave of opportunity—through entrepreneurship.
With the JAM Trinity (Jandhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) laying the groundwork, Indians now have the digital infrastructure to create, not just consume. Mukherjea calls on the middle class to rethink career goals, move beyond salary obsession, and solve for impact and happiness, not just income.
“We’re too focused on the paycheck. That mindset is holding us back,” he said. Instead, he urges families to redefine success—from job titles to real-world value, from paychecks to purpose.
This isn't just a forecast—it’s a cultural wake-up call. A shift from chasing jobs to creating value. From fear of failure to freedom to build.
