New Delhi, July 22, 2025: At the “BharatSkillNxt 2025” event marking the 10‑year milestone of the Skill India Mission, Union Minister Jayant Chaudhary announced a bold initiative: within the next six months, India is poised to become home to the world’s largest network of school students actively using and applying artificial intelligence .
“Whether it’s veterans retraining, rural women discovering entrepreneurship, or young students embracing AI, every story reaffirms that India’s future lies in recognizing talent, restoring dignity to work, and creating opportunity through skill,” stated Shri Chaudhary during his address at the Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi .
SOAR: Skilling for AI Readiness
The introduction of SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness), a program to incorporate AI education at the classroom level and equip students for real-world issues, was a major feature of the celebration. Chaudhary argues that this is about encouraging active application and future leadership in AI, not just about providing access to technology.
Celebration of Achievements & Roadmap Ahead
The event also unveiled several major initiatives and resources:
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IndiaSkills 2025–26 Operational Guidelines and a new Registration Portal
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Launch of NCVET’s KaushalVerse Digital Enterprise Portal
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Assessment Agencies and Apprenticeship Training Portal
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Release of the India Semiconductor Workforce Strategy, Skill Impact Bond Report, a Decentralized Planning Book, and the JSS Employability Skills Trainer Handbook.
Shri Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce, Electronics, and IT, supported the minister's goal, stating that skills, particularly in AI, are enabling a generational transition and empowering young people to compete on a global scale.
The introduction also signifies a conceptual shift in India's educational system, where vocational skills and AI literacy are being ingrained from early schooling, creating a generation that is ready "for life, not just for work," said Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State for Education.
International & Institutional Collaborations
The event underscored a spirit of collaboration with several high‑impact MoUs, including:
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A landmark agreement with the French government to foster joint curricula, Centres of Excellence, and innovation-driven training.
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Domestic partnerships:
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NSTI‑Bangalore × SLN Technology (DST)
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NSTI‑Mumbai × ICICI Foundation (rural incubation)
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Flexi‑MoUs with Dixon Technologies, Microsoft, HCL, Apollo MedSkills and premier institutes like IIT Patna, IIT Hyderabad, IIIT Una, RRU Gandhinagar, and NIT Agartala, supporting vocational courses under PMKVY.
Real-World Impact
Success stories from beneficiaries of prominent programs such as NAPS, NIESBUD, PM Vishwakarma, Skill Impact Bond, and others were shared, highlighting the mission's human aspect. The event also acknowledged six Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) that excelled.
A Decade of Nation-Building Through Skills
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Skill India in July 2015 with the audacious objective of training more than 30 crore people in a variety of skills. In the last ten years, it has helped more than 6 crore people in both the urban and rural sectors get trained. With the current emphasis, integrating AI abilities into regular education at the school level represents a significant advancement.
What This Means
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Global AI Leadership: In order to demonstrate both scale and early adoption, India wants to become the nation with the largest student body prepared for AI.
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Future Workforce: Students who acquire AI abilities at an early age will have a distinct advantage in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
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Collaborative Ecosystem: Through global alliances and connections between industry and academia, India is creating a comprehensive, future-proof skilling ecosystem.
Education and skill development initiatives are proven to be the cornerstones of India's economic transformation as it moves closer to a "Viksit Bharat 2047." The next six months will be crucial to realizing this ambitious goal and establishing India as a world leader in AI-powered education.
India's efforts to mainstream AI education have reached a major turning point with this plan, which will guarantee that the nation's youth take center stage in the global tech scene.
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