GBS 2026: Should you Buy IT stocks amid AI-led selloff? Madhu Kela speaks | ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026

GBS 2026: Veteran investors Madhusudan Kela on Friday (Feb 13) said that technology has never ever made life difficult for people in the last 50 years. Speaking at the day 1 of ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026 in New Delhi, he said that "every time there is a technology, it has only made life easier and society is more prosperous".

"Over a period of time, we have seen that society adapts to technologies and it brings in more prosperity. Every time new technology comes in, the fear is as it is today," he said.

"The second thing that is happening to counter balance, it is GCC. That is a real boon for India. You take name of any real big multinational company, they have operations here. And these are value added jobs, unlike a software job that pays you Rs 3 lakh.. these are paying like Rs 8-10-15 lakh and the numbers are very large... more than 25 lakh people are today employed in GCCs. And this is still yet happening," he said.

"I have no reason to believe that India as a country will face massive challenges only because of AI. May be we will convert this as biggest opportunity and become the biggest AI solutions provider. At the end of the day AI doesn't do anything on its own... even you have to integrate AI, you still need people," he said.

"This GCC will significantly compensate the losses that we are going to have on the software side," he added.

To a question is this right time to buy software stocks or IT stocks, Kela replied: "Let it settle down... at the end of the day we have to see how the growth rate spans out and what kind of projections or guidance these companies are giving or the next 2-2.5 years."

ET NOW Global Business Summit 2026

At a time when disruption is continuous and power is being re-distributed across technology, geopolitics, capital, and society, Times Group’s thought leadership dialogue, ET NOW Global Business Summit (GBS) 2026, set to take place on February 13 and February 14 at the Hotel Taj Palace in New Delhi, embraces the theme “A Decade of Disruption. A Century of Change”.

GBS 2026 - A Decade of Disruption. A Century of Change

This year’s edition reflects the scale, speed, and significance of transformations reshaping global economies, from technological acceleration and geopolitical realignment to sustainability imperatives and new governance models.

The GBS 2026 will evaluate a range of themes, including economic disruption, Industry 5.0, globalisation, workforce transformation, energy security and business diversification.

The Times Group’s ET NOW Global Business Summit (GBS) is not a reflection on the past; it is a platform built to shape what comes next. As Asia’s most influential global leadership forum, it convenes the architects of economies, institutions, and enterprises to script the forces that will define the century ahead.

Conceived as a space where leaders confront uncertainty before it becomes inevitability, GBS convenes the world’s most influential voices to interpret disruption, design direction, and script long-term impact.

As economies, technologies, and governance systems undergo accelerated transformation, GBS serves as a centre of global conversations, where emerging realities are debated, strategic responses are forged, and the foundations of future growth are laid.