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Good Morning. In the near future, our homes could look much different. Instead of sari-clad maid, there could be a robot cleaning and washing for you. It could also lead to job losses at the other end of the spectrum.
In other news, steelmakers are seeking curbs on imports which have risen in the last six months. Meanwhile, Coal India is pivoting to renewable and other sources and critical minerals, broadening its horizon.
And we witnessed history being made on Sunday night. The Indian women's cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur, won their first-ever ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title defeating a formidable South Africa. This landmark victory came in their third final appearance, after previous defeats in 2005 and 2017.
THE TAKE
AI Comes For White Collar Jobs, Robots For Blue Collar Jobs
A ubiquitous part of many middle class Indian homes is domestic help. For many, they are an extended part of the family.
The help’s principal job is to sweep, mop and wash dishes.
There is considerable discussion about AI taking away jobs. In all probability they will, though the extent of it is not clear. The industry is nevertheless gearing up for this shift in many ways, including by reskilling its workforce. And the policymakers are attempting to frame policies to address it.
Robots Take Over Factories
Yet, another kind of job is increasingly under threat and less discussed. That’s the menial, repetitive physical tasks, both in factories and at homes. Like factory workers who pick, sort, pack, label and place or retrieve goods or the househelp who sweeps, cleans and washes dishes.
An upcoming wave of robotics that are getting more sophisticated and accessible at the same time; could cause tectonic shifts in this segment of the job market.
Domestic work is classified as ‘informal’ by the Periodic Labour Force Survey. There are 4.75 million domestic workers in India, as per official statistics. Only 10 of the 31 states and Union territories in India have included domestic workers in the schedule of Minimum Wages Act.
The numbers don’t seem that high but official estimates are contested and the figures suggested can range up to 10 times.
Meanwhile, data from the Annual Survey of Industries put together by portal dataforindia says over two lakh operational factories of India employed 18.5 million people as of 2023.
This represents about 30% of the manufacturing workforce, and 3% of India's workforce as a whole.
They are the people who are directly part of the manufacturing process, and thus stand to be affected, as per my understanding. Though this has already been happening for a while now.
Visit any modern car plant, even in India, and you will see robots having taken over many tasks done by human hand a few years ago.
A Million Robots & More
Companies like Amazon are driving change at scale.
The e-commerce giant started a big thrust into robotics in 2012, when it paid $775 million to buy the robotics maker Kiva.
Thanks to which robots now roam Amazon’s warehouses, which are becoming more sophisticated by the day, almost.
In two years time, Amazon will avoid hiring 160,000 more workers, according to an NYT Report. Eventually, it believes it can automate up to 75% of the company’s operations.
In June, as Professor Scott Galloway, author and professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business points out, Amazon deployed its millionth robot worker putting the company on pace to have more robots than humans in its warehouses by year end.
Amazon employs over 1.5 million people globally and recently announced it was cutting around 14,000 corporate jobs. Professor Galloway believes reduction in warehouse workforce is imminent.
Amazon is not alone, DHL is among the many logistics companies that is increasingly roboticising its warehouses which serve customers in the ecommerce and other spaces.
Conversely, most robotics innovation right now is actually aimed at warehouses and logistics.
The Rise Of The Humanoids
Which brings us back to homes.
Maya Cakmak, professor at the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at the University of Washington in an article for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers recently wrote that if machines could match human form and function, they could simply step into human jobs without requiring us to change our environments.
She was referring to humanoids, the next level so to speak. It is also Elon Musk’s grand vision and promise for Tesla. Yes, he has already moved on from cars.
If humanoids could do everything people can, then in theory they could replace workers on the factory floor or in warehouse aisles.
It’s no surprise, then, that many humanoid companies are targeting what they believe are sectors with labour shortages and undesirable jobs—manufacturing, logistics, distribution, retail—as near-term markets.
Robots Make A Clean Sweep
Cakmak says, it is factories first, homes next. A subset of humanoid companies see homes as the next frontier.
There are several examples and prototypes floating around.
Some companies, she says, claim humanoids will revolutionize “assisting individuals in the home” and “caring for the elderly and in cases vacuuming, serving tea, wiping windows and tables, and carrying laundry and grocery bags”.
Speaking of vacuuming, the machines are already here, right in many homes across India.
An article in Times of India quotes retailers and companies like Eureka Forbes saying sales of robotic vacuum cleaners; Roomba is a popular one; rose dramatically in the last two years.
The reasons range from unavailability of domestic help to convenience.
The TOI article quotes a Pune resident saying she bought a robotic home cleaner online last year because it was tough to get househelp to come at a convenient time.
Another consumer says robotic cleaners were available only overseas but now cheaper ones, including those around Rs 15,000, are available in India.
From experience, robotic vacuum cleaners which sweep and mop floors autonomously are quite effective.
The Robotic Hand That Helps
It is evident that the cost will come down, the intelligence driving these machines will improve as will the machines themselves. Thus, over a long term, they can reduce the need for manual labour.
So while humanoids are still some time away, robots are already taking over individual components of our physical work like the vacuum cleaner. Or robotic lawn mowers in countries like the United States where homes typically have large lawns.
Dish washers and washing machines are not exactly robots but they also reduce levels of labour for most households.
But between factories and homes, robots will undoubtedly start taking away or taking over jobs and potential jobs in India.
One way to look at it is that this forces labour to seek more value-added jobs. That is feasible and possible and of course desirable; but the transition is not that simple in a country like India.
Between robots and AI, there are massive challenges on the horizon, something that we are not fully prepared for or are in a position to respond right now.
Thinking about robots and their impact on the workforce is a good place to start.
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CORE NUMBER
Rs 14, 610 crore
That’s how much foreign portfolio investors invested in Indian equities in October, after pulling out money for the past three months, according to data released by the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL).
Previously, Indian market saw net outflows worth:
July: Rs 17,700 crore
August: Rs 34,990 crore
September: Rs 23,885 crore
Experts say that India’s balance sheet has turned around because of supportive domestic reforms like the recent GST rationalisation and expectation of a US-India trade deal.
Pivot: Despite the recent uptick in equity inflows, in total, FPIs withdrew Rs 1.4 trillion in 2025 so far.
FROM THE PERIPHERY
Steelmakers Seek Import Curbs
Indian steelmakers are going ask for more curbs on steel imports, after imports surged from many countries including China. As per a PTI report, a high-level committee of government’s think tank NITI Aayog is likely to meet steel industry leaders next week to discuss the issue.
Background: The steel ministry has earlier restricted the import of lower quality steel, but it has not helped the domestic steel and stainless steel industry much. Only 60% of the stainless industry’s capacity is currently being utilised. Industry players feel the government could do more to protect the industry which is looking to make significant investments.
By The Numbers: As per World Steel Association, India produced 122.4 MT of crude steel, while China produced 73.5 MT in September alone, showing the vast difference in production capacities. As of August 2025, India has been a net importer of steel for six months consecutively.
From Coal to Clean?
Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman Sanoj Kr Jha urged a complete business overhaul to keep the state-run miner relevant in a changing energy landscape at the company’s 50th-anniversary event in Kolkata.
The Lead: The world has moved far beyond coal, and the company must evolve to stay competitive, Jha said. Coal India plans to diversify into coal gasification, renewable energy, and critical minerals, while targeting 100 million tonnes of underground output by 2035. It also aims to mechanise coal transport under its First Mile Connectivity initiative and expand eco-restoration drives.
Turning Point: The shift comes as renewables grow rapidly and India works to decarbonise its economy. Jha called this transformation ‘essential for survival’, positioning Coal India as a broader energy provider.
Rain Cools Pepsi, Coke Sales
Cola majors Pepsi and Coca-Cola reported lower Q3 unit volume sales in their international businesses. Most of this impact came from India where heavy rains kicked off in mid-May and extended to most of September; denting cool drink sales.
Setting: Coca-Cola’s unit case volume in Asia Pacific declined 1%, while Pepsi’s international business category too saw volume decline of 1% in the third quarter ending September. India’s FMCG company Dabur too reported lower sales of its fruit juice brand Real in the same period.
Impact: PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said that they’re seeing growth in India, even with the impact of weather and competition; and hopes they would ‘come back strong’. James Quincey, CEO of Coca-Cola also said India holds significant long-term potential for volume growth. Reliance Retail launched its cola brand Campa at aggressive prices, forcing the cola majors to launch budget friendly alternatives.
India Rare Earth Plan to Swell 3X
India is planning to increase the size its incentive programme for rare earth magnet manufacturing by three times over to $788 million, says a Bloomberg report quoting sources. The initiative aims to aid five companies via production-linked and capital subsidies, sources add.
The Lead: The plan is a significant step up from its earlier incentive programme which accounted to $290 million. The proposal is awaiting cabinet approval. Rare earths are key to various sectors like electric vehicles, renewable energy and defence.
Backstory: India, like most other nations, is striving to reduce its reliance on China for rare earths. China had issued a licence allowing rare earth magnet imports for use in India, they have not been granted to Indian-origin firms. Indian government owned companies are also looking at mining partnerships overseas for technical know-how.
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