Relevance: GS II (Education) & GS III (Science & Tech) | Source: Ministry of Electronics & IT

1. What is the Main Goal?

India wants to become the world’s top destination for Artificial Intelligence (AI) talent.

• The Need: To grow our economy rapidly, India needs over 12 lakh (1.25 million) AI experts by the year 2027.
• IndiaAI Mission: The government has cleared a massive budget of ₹10,371 crore. Instead of buying foreign technology, this money will be used to build our own powerful AI computers and help young Indian startups grow.

2. Catching Them Young (School Level)

To make sure our children are ready for the future, the government is bringing AI directly into school classrooms:

• SOAR Program: This stands for Skilling for AI Readiness. It teaches basic AI and computer learning to school students from Class 6 to Class 12.
• Atal Tinkering Labs: The government has opened over 10,000 special practical labs in schools. Here, both village and city students get to play and learn with real robots, 3D printers, and AI coding.

3. College and Adult Training

The government is not just focusing on kids. They are also training adults and college students:

• Visvesvaraya Scheme: This scheme gives good scholarship money to brilliant PhD students who are researching advanced AI and electronics.
• SWAYAM Portal: A free government website where top IIT professors teach more than 110 AI courses to college students for free.
• YUVA AI For All: A simple, free online course made for 1 crore normal citizens. It helps everyone, even senior citizens and non-technical workers, understand what AI is and how to use it safely.

4. Making AI Fair for Everyone

• Removing the Divide: AI should not just be for rich city students. The government is making AI learning tools in 22 local Indian languages so that a child in a deep village can learn easily.
• Special Needs: AI tools are being used to help children who have learning difficulties (like Dyslexia). The AI patiently helps them read and speak better.

UPSC Value Box

With reference to the government initiatives for Artificial Intelligence (AI) skill development in India, consider the following statements:

1. The ‘SOAR’ program aims to teach foundational Artificial Intelligence skills to school students from Classes 6 to 12.
2. The IndiaAI Mission has a budget allocation of over ₹10,000 crore to build domestic AI computing infrastructure.
3. The Visvesvaraya Scheme provides financial fellowships exclusively to undergraduate arts and commerce students.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Correct Answer: (a)