Microsoft has said it will train more than 20 lakh Indian youths across small cities and villages with AI skills by 2025 to make them ready for the future.
The company on Wednesday revealed its ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA job programme which it will run in partnership with the Indian government and several state governments.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on Thursday in a session in Bengaluru said, "AI for everyone. We want to be India's most trusted partner for that."
The programme will focus on training individuals in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, as well as rural areas, in India.
Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India & South Asia called ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA initiative a significant step towards democratizing access to AI skills across the nation.
"India has a huge opportunity to be a global leader in AI, and creating AI fluency at scale is a critical step in that journey. This initiative aims to propel India into a promising era of AI fluency, empowering citizens across India with the right skills to thrive in the age of AI," he said.
Microsoft will collaborate with India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and 10 state governments for the programme.
The company aims to offer basic and advanced AI training to 500,000 students and job seekers across 100 rural vocational education institutions and training centres.
Microsoft will also enhance its collaboration with India’s National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building by providing essential training in generative AI to 250,000 government officers, elevating their AI fluency.
Based on Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index, 90 per cent of Indian leaders recognise the need for new skills in their hires to adapt to AI-driven growth. In addition, 78 per cent of Indian workers admit lacking the necessary AI capabilities for their current tasks.
In the last three years, Microsoft has equipped over 5,000 nonprofits in India with accessible, cost-effective, and cutting-edge cloud and technology solutions, it said in the statement.
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