Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, chaired a strategic meeting on Skilling for AI at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi, focusing on integrating AI into the national skilling roadmap to support the vision of Viksit Bharat. The meeting reviewed the IndiaAI Mission’s FutureSkills pillar and key MSDE initiatives including SOAR – Skilling for AI Readiness, the DGT–Microsoft collaboration, AI Careers for Women (TechSaksham 2.0) and AI training under PMKVY 4.0, while also strengthening inter-ministerial coordination between MSDE and MeitY. The session was attended by senior officials including Shri Ms. Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, MSDE, Ms. Sonal Mishra, Additional Secretary, MSDE, Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, MeitY and CEO, IndiaAI Mission, Ms. Debjani Ghosh, Distinguished Fellow, NITI Aayog & Chief Architect, NITI Frontier Tech Hub along with leadership from MSDE and NCVET.

During the meeting, Shri Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (I/C) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Minister of State for Education, Government of India, he stated, “Building AI capabilities at scale requires deep collaboration between government, industry, academia and training institutions. Through consultations like these, we are strengthening industry co-ownership in skilling, promoting flexible learning pathways, and ensuring that our training systems remain responsive to real-world demand. By embedding AI skills across education, vocational training and the workforce, we are laying the foundation for a Viksit Bharat in an AI-enabled global economy.”

In continuation, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship convened a multi-stakeholder consultation that brought together senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, representatives of the IndiaAI Mission, industry leaders, regulators, academia, and key skilling ecosystem partners to deliberate on strengthening India’s artificial intelligence talent landscape. The consultation aimed to align policy vision, industry requirements, and skilling implementation to build a future-ready workforce capable of supporting India’s ambitions in an AI-driven global economy.

A key focus of the consultation was the scale and urgency of the AI talent challenge, viewed in the context of MSDE’s expanding portfolio of digital and technology-focused skilling initiatives. Discussions underscored the importance of continuous upskilling and reskilling across the workforce, complementing the Ministry’s ongoing efforts to equip learners and workers with relevant, applied AI competencies.

The deliberations were closely aligned with the objectives of the IndiaAI Mission, with participants examining how MSDE’s skilling and training frameworks can further support India’s ambition to emerge as a trusted global hub for AI development, deployment, and governance. Emphasis was placed on developing talent across the AI value chain, from research and engineering to sector-specific applications in healthcare, manufacturing, services, and governance, while upholding principles of responsible and ethical AI use.

Participants took note of the steady progress made by MSDE in advancing AI skilling through structured programmes and partnerships. Ongoing initiatives to build early AI awareness and foundational capabilities among students were highlighted as a strong base on which this consultation seeks to build further. These efforts were recognized for strengthening the long-term talent pipeline and fostering digital confidence, creativity, and problem-solving skills at an early stage.

They also emphasized the value of transitioning from fragmented interventions to a more integrated, mission-driven, and outcome-oriented approach to build systems and frameworks already put in place by MSDE. Greater industry co-ownership in curriculum design and delivery, modular and stackable learning pathways, and real-world training through apprenticeships and live projects were identified as areas where the consultation would further strengthen existing efforts.

The consultation concluded with a shared understanding that MSDE’s ongoing work in AI and digital skilling provides a strong foundation for the next phase of action. Priority areas identified included integrating foundational AI modules into existing vocational curricula, strengthening institutional infrastructure, expanding early-stage AI literacy initiatives, deepening industry partnerships, and ensuring regulatory agility. The deliberations marked an important step towards enhancing and scaling current initiatives, reaffirming MSDE’s central role in preparing India’s people for leadership in an AI-enabled future.

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