Government Launches Free AI Training for 10 Lakh Citizens

Government Launches Free AI Training for 10 Lakh Citizens

Why in News? 

Recently the central government launched a program to offer free Artificial Intelligence training to 10 lakh citizens. This program focuses on empowering Village Level Entrepreneurs through Common Services Centres under MeitY. 

Key Highlights of Government Launches Free AI Training for 10 Lakh Citizens

• Launch: The Government of India launched a nationwide Artificial Intelligence training program on 16 July 2025. 

• Digital India’s ten-year journey is being marked with the launch of a nationwide AI training initiative.

• The government introduced the AI training programme during the CSC Diwas held in New Delhi.

• Stakeholders: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is leading this AI training project. 

• The Common Services Centre – Special Purpose Vehicle (CSC SPV) plays a major role in execution. 

• Across India, CSC centres function in both rural and urban regions and are run by local Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs). These entrepreneurs will also lead AI learning efforts in their local communities.

• Training Framework: The training will initially focus on 5.5 lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs.  

• After the VLEs are trained, the program will extend to other citizens, eventually covering 10 lakh people. 

• The sessions will cover the basics of AI, its real-life applications, and simple tools that use machine learning. 

• Content will be offered in local languages to ensure better understanding. 

• Learners will access sessions through online modules, CSC centres, and interactive video tutorials. 

• Objectives: 

• This program forms a part of the Digital India@10 campaign, focused on making technology accessible, especially to rural India. 

• This effort also complements the broader IndiaAI Mission. For this in March 2025, the government sanctioned ₹10,372 crore for the IndiaAI Mission.

• • In this initiative, the government is bringing AI awareness to villages and small towns. 
  • AI training will help villagers to understand AI and use it in agriculture, healthcare, and education. 
  • Around 74,000 VLEs are women. Their involvement will also empower more women to explore careers in technology.
  • The program also hopes to inspire more startups and innovations from small towns.

Rise of Artificial Intelligence in India

• Growth in AI Skills: India shows the fastest growth in AI talent globally. Since 2016, the number of AI-skilled professionals has increased by 263 percent. The Stanford AI Index 2024 confirms India ranks first in global AI skill penetration. India now produces a workforce that can support its digital ambitions.

• GPU and Compute Infrastructure: The government is building a powerful AI computing foundation. It now operates nearly 18,700 GPUs. This is more than nine times capacity compared to some older AI players. India also plans to devise its own GPU within three to five years. These steps aim to reduce dependency on foreign technologies.

• National AI Platforms: India launched major AI initiatives since 2024. The INDIAai portal offers unified updates across sectors. It also launched centres of excellence in areas like agriculture, healthcare, smart cities, and education. The 2025 Union Budget allocated ₹500 crore for a new AI education centre.

• Indigenous AI Models: India invests in homegrown language models. BharatGen and Sarvam-1 serve several Indian languages. A multilingual foundational model, Krutrim, processes content in Indic languages at scale, addressing linguistic diversity. Such models aim to reflect India’s multilingual reality.

• AI Use: AI touches many areas of everyday life in India. In agriculture, Microsoft’s Farm Vibes project raised crop yield by 40 percent in Maharashtra. In energy, AI forecasts and grid optimization promise to reduce transmission losses and support cleaner energy by 2030. In public services, AI helps police identify crime hotspots, while finance sees greater credit access for underserved groups.

• Startups and Investments: India supports over 520 tech incubators, making it the third-largest startup ecosystem. Generative AI startups raised six times more funding in FY 2025 compared to the previous year, touching USD 51 million. The national AI market is projected to reach USD 17 billion by 2027.

• Regulation and Global Leadership: India builds AI governance with care. India’s approach to AI includes ethical guidelines set in 2021 and a broader national policy drafted in 2018. In January 2025, the government launched an IndiaAI Safety Institute to ensure responsible innovation. India also co-hosted the AI Action Summit in Paris 2025 and engages with global forums under its G20 presidency.

Challenges of AI in India

• Talent Shortage: A large number of graduates lack the practical skills to work on advanced AI systems. Many professionals engage in service-based roles rather than research and innovation. This mismatch slows the creation of indigenous models and limits contributions to global AI leadership.

• Infrastructure Deficits: India depends heavily on imported GPUs and cloud platforms from global tech firms. Domestic chip production remains minimal. This dependence undermines technological autonomy and increases costs. 

• Availability of Data: High‑quality, annotated datasets are crucial for training AI. India’s data ecosystem is fragmented across states and departments. This results in inconsistent datasets and weak model performance.

• Regulatory Gaps: AI models trained on skewed data may discriminate against marginalized communities. Present ethical frameworks remain scattered and lack proper regulatory backing, which leads to uncertainty in AI accountability and risks of misuse. The Personal Data Protection Act of 2023 helps with privacy but does not fully address algorithmic bias.

• Economic Disruption: AI-driven automation poses risks to low-skill jobs in sectors like manufacturing, services, gig economy, and BPO. Studies estimate that up to 60–75 million jobs may be affected by 2025–2030. This shift could create social strains if reskilling efforts lag behind automation trends.

• Cost Barriers: Almost one in five Indian companies stall or scrap AI projects due to lack of skills, governance issues, or trust concerns. Many firms lack change‑management processes to help staff adapt to AI tools. Budgetary constraints and unclear data governance further delay implementation.

Path Ahead for AI in India

• Scale Up Compute Capacity: India must build its own AI hardware ecosystem. The country currently runs around 18,693 GPUs at its high-performance computing infrastructure but still depends heavily on imported chips. Expanding semiconductor manufacturing via the PLI scheme can further improve technology sovereignty and lower costs.

• Expand AI Skilling: India leads globally in AI skill penetration but needs more deep‑tech and research capacity. The country must scale AI education under initiatives like IndiaAI FutureSkills, Fellowships, and national AI skilling centres. It should integrate AI learning into vocational training under NEP 2020. These efforts will narrow the skill gap, especially in Tier‑2 and Tier‑3 cities.

• Build a High‑Quality Data Ecosystem: The AI Kosha platform currently hosts over 316 non‑personal datasets across domains such as population statistics, pollution data, and satellite imagery. India must establish standardised data governance and encourage data sharing across ministries while protecting privacy.
• Encourage Startup Innovation: Government programmes like AIRAWAT, Bhashini, and AI for All support inclusive deployment. India should also nurture startups via incentives, accelerators, and public‑private partnerships. These measures will drive local innovation and sustainable digital transformation.