As artificial intelligence reshapes recruitment across industries, Indian organisations are increasingly embracing AI-powered tools to improve hiring speed, candidate screening and workforce planning.According to ACCA’s latest survey, 52 per cent of Indian respondents said they trust AI algorithms to support fair and unbiased recruitment, significantly above the global average of 43 per cent. However, HR professionals continue to caution that AI, while powerful, cannot independently evaluate human potential, cultural fit or leadership capability.
The debate comes at a time when confidence in AI-assisted recruitment is rising.In this context, ETHRWorld interacted with HR leaders from healthcare, manufacturing and industrial sectors on how their organisations are balancing AI-driven efficiency with human oversight.
Human recruiters remain central despite growing AI adoption
While AI is increasingly handling repetitive and data-intensive tasks, organisations unanimously agree that hiring decisions cannot be left entirely to algorithms.
For Paras Health, AI currently assists in creating job descriptions and screening resumes through its HRMS platform.
According to Balkishan Sharma, Group CHRO and Business Transformation Officer, Paras Health, the technology has significantly reduced administrative workload and accelerated candidate shortlisting. However, recruiters and hiring managers remain involved at every critical stage, including defining role requirements, validating AI-generated shortlists, conducting interviews, assessing candidates and making final hiring decisions.
Sharma noted that AI often struggles to identify candidates with unconventional career journeys or unique experiences. Human recruiters therefore review every AI-generated recommendation before moving candidates forward.
“Our philosophy is clear. AI should augment recruiters, not replace them. Factors such as cultural fit, learning agility, leadership potential and patient-centricity are difficult for algorithms to accurately assess, making human judgment essential,” said Sharma.Surbhi Srivastava, CHRO, ISEAM, SKF India (Industrial), echoed similar views. The company uses AI to improve efficiency in sourcing, resume parsing and initial screening, but considers the technology an enabler rather than a decision-maker.
Srivastava introduced the concept of “Original Intelligence” (OI), describing it as the uniquely human ability to interpret complexity, assess potential and make nuanced decisions.
While AI can process large volumes of data rapidly, Srivastava argued that only human recruiters can effectively evaluate long-term fit, contextual factors and organisational alignment. “OI is what ensures quality and long-term fit in hiring,” she said.At APL Apollo Tubes, AI is primarily used for large-scale candidate assessments, behavioural and cognitive evaluations, and talent analytics.
During a recent campus recruitment exercise, the company used AI tools to assess more than 2,000 candidates through a structured framework.
However, Sachin Patwa, DGM-HR, APL Apollo Tubes, stressed that recruiters and hiring managers continue to interpret assessment outcomes and evaluate candidates on dimensions such as business acumen, learning agility, cultural alignment, leadership potential and long-term organisational fit.
According to Patwa, technology can improve objectivity and decision quality, but accountability must remain with human leaders. “Technology enhances decision quality; accountability remains with leaders and hiring teams,” he said.AI is delivering measurable gains across recruitment and talent management
Beyond recruitment, companies are increasingly deploying AI to improve workforce development, performance management and succession planning.
Paras Health has expanded AI adoption beyond recruitment into talent management and employee development. The organisation uses AI-driven analytics linked to KPI frameworks and its Hospital Information System to continuously track performance, identify capability gaps and recommend targeted learning interventions.
Sharma of Paras Health said, “The organisation has witnessed improvements in hiring efficiency, workforce visibility, development planning and personalised employee learning journeys. Managers are also benefiting from actionable insights that support better talent decisions.”
Despite these gains, he emphasized that AI continues to function as a decision-support system rather than a decision-maker. The greatest value, he said, comes from combining technology with business context and human expertise.
SKF India (Industrial) is using AI to automate repetitive recruitment tasks such as candidate matching, screening and pipeline management. According to Srivastava, this has helped reduce turnaround times, improve process consistency and enhance candidate experiences.
More importantly, automation has allowed recruiters to focus on higher-value activities such as capability assessments, stakeholder engagement and building meaningful candidate relationships.
Among the most measurable outcomes came from APL Apollo’s AI-driven campus hiring initiative. The company introduced a robotics-enabled assessment framework that combines AI-proctored technical tests, behavioural evaluations and structured interviews aligned with its competency framework.
Patwa said, “This initiative reduced hiring timelines from 8-10 weeks to less than four weeks. The company also reported a 30-35 per cent improvement in candidate experience scores, higher recruiter productivity, improved offer acceptance rates and deeper insights into candidate capabilities.”
The organisation is now exploring AI applications in competency mapping, leadership pipeline development and identifying high-potential talent.
Guardrails against bias are becoming a priority
While AI promises efficiency, HR leaders acknowledge the risks associated with algorithmic bias and unintended exclusion of qualified candidates.
To prevent AI from filtering out capable candidates, Paras Health ensures that no applicant is rejected solely on the basis of an AI recommendation.
Recruiters manually review shortlisted as well as borderline applications, particularly those involving transferable skills or non-traditional career paths.
The company also regularly audits screening outcomes to identify patterns that may disadvantage specific groups. Recruiters are encouraged to challenge AI recommendations whenever they believe potential talent has been overlooked.
Sharma said transparent hiring criteria, regular review of screening parameters and alignment with diversity objectives are critical safeguards. In healthcare, qualities such as empathy, adaptability, collaboration and patient-centricity often cannot be measured through algorithms alone, making human assessment indispensable.
SKF India (Industrial) follows a “human-in-the-loop” model to maintain fairness and accountability. The company conducts periodic audits, validates screening criteria and ensures human oversight throughout the hiring process.
Srivastava warned that bias can emerge both from the underlying data and from the design of AI systems. This is where Original Intelligence becomes crucial, helping recruiters question outputs, interpret results responsibly and ensure hiring decisions remain aligned with organisational values.
According to Srivastava, fairness cannot be guaranteed by technology alone. It requires continuous human responsibility and ethical judgment.
APL Apollo has embedded fairness into the design of its AI-led hiring framework. One of its key initiatives is the use of blind assessments, where candidate names, gender and educational institution details are hidden during evaluation. “This ensures decisions are based on demonstrated capability rather than demographic or pedigree-related factors,” said Patwa.
The company has also adopted a language-neutral assessment approach, allowing candidates to participate in English, Hindi and regional languages. Patwa said this helps ensure language proficiency does not become a barrier to opportunity.
Human judgment will remain the final filter
As AI adoption accelerates, HR leaders agreed that the future of recruitment will not be defined by technology alone, but by how effectively organisations combine automation with human expertise.
Across healthcare, industrial manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, AI is already delivering significant gains in speed, scalability and workforce insights. Yet hiring leaders remain cautious about over-reliance on algorithms.
As organisations strive to build future-ready workforces, the most successful employers will be those that use AI to augment human decision-making rather than replace it.
In the evolving world of talent acquisition, human judgment remains the final and most important filter, concluded HR leaders.