Microsoft joins hands with India, to skill 5 lakh people by 2026 under India AI Mission

The MoU with India AI aims to leverage AI to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and foster inclusive growth across the country

New Delhi: Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella here on Wednesday announced several AI partnerships in the country, which includes an MoU with the government’s ‘India AI Mission’ to skill 5 lakh people.

The MoU with India AI, a division of Digital India Corporation, aims to leverage AI to drive innovation, enhance productivity, and foster inclusive growth across the country.

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As part of the MOU, Microsoft and India AI together will skill 500,000 individuals, including students, educators, developers, government officials, and women entrepreneurs, by 2026.

They will also establish an AI Center of Excellence, called ‘AI Catalysts’, to promote rural AI innovation and support 100,000 AI innovators and developers through hackathons, community-building solutions, and an AI marketplace.

As part of the MoU, they will also set up ‘AI Productivity Labs’ at 20 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs)/NIELIT centres in 10 states to impart foundational courses for 20,000 educators.

The collaboration will also focus on developing AI-enabled solutions for citizen-scale domains such as healthcare, education, accessibility, and agriculture. “We are excited to work closely with the government to extend the benefits of the India AI mission to every corner of the country and democratise access to technology and resources,” said Puneet Chandok, president, Microsoft India and South Asia.

RailTel and Microsoft also entered a five-year strategic partnership to advance digital, cloud, and AI transformation in the Indian railways and public sector space.

A recent IDC study, commissioned by Microsoft, showed AI usage in India jumped from 63 per cent in 2023 to 72 per cent in 2024.

On Tuesday, Microsoft announced plans to invest $3 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure in India over the next two years, including the establishment of new data centres.

The tech giant also announced to train and skill 10 million people in AI by 2030. The company has already empowered 2.4 million Indians, including civil servants, college students and people with disabilities, with AI skills.