Services are the new frontier of global trade — international services trade has grown at twice the rate of goods since 1990, with intermediate commercial services (professional, technical, digital) as the fastest-growing segment.

India's structural advantages are well-positioned, but not guaranteed — the country's strengths lie precisely in the intermediate services space, yet durability is not assured as headwinds mount.

Three converging threats to India's services edge — AI disruption, rising anti-foreigner sentiment in key markets, and policy barriers to cross-border work are each putting pressure on India's established model.

GenAI is specifically eroding first-generation BPO advantages — Professor Baldwin will address this directly, making the session a live diagnosis of a structural shift already underway rather than a theoretical forecast.

The 'invisible export' reframe matters for strategy — the session offers a framework for understanding what has genuinely changed in the global order, helping Indian business leaders identify where to double down and where to pivot.