As part of the ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA program, Microsoft will collaborate with the Indian government and state governments to offer AI training to students, job seekers, government officials, and nonprofit groups.
Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it will train two million people in India in artificial intelligence (AI) by the year 2025. ADVANTAG(I)GE INDIA is a program designed to accelerate India’s AI revolution and equip its labor force for occupations of the future.
The announcement is a component of Microsoft’s larger Skills for Jobs program, which is consistent with the responsible AI values of the organization. Through collaborations with national corporations, non-profit organizations, and the government, training will be provided.
During his current tour to India, CEO Satya Nadella discussed the proliferation of technology at a conference in Mumbai. Based on Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index, ninety percent of Indian leaders believe that their new hires will require new skills to keep up with AI’s rapid advancements. In addition, 78% of Indian workers claim they lack the necessary AI skills to finish their current tasks.
ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA will concentrate on training people in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as well as rural regions in order to close this needs gap and empower inclusive socioeconomic advancement.
Puneet Chandok, president of Microsoft India and South Asia, stated, “The ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA initiative is a significant step towards democratizing access to AI skills across the nation and reflects Microsoft’s deep commitment to enabling inclusive growth with technology.”
“Developing AI fluency at scale is a critical step in India’s journey to become a global leader in AI, which presents a huge opportunity.” By providing Indian residents with the necessary skills to prosper in the AI era, this project seeks to catapult the country into a promising era of AI fluency.”
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Three main areas will be the focus of the ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA project to develop AI fluency: preparing India’s future workforce, improving the AI proficiency of government employees, and enhancing the AI capacity of nonprofit institutions.
Microsoft and the Indian Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, along with ten state governments, will collaborate to offer ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA. This would enable 500,000 job seekers and students in 100 rural vocational education institutions and training centers in India to receive basic and advanced AI training.
By doing this, Microsoft and the government will strengthen their current partnership to provide youth with cybersecurity and digital literacy training. Furthermore, Microsoft will use 5,000 trainers at higher education institutions in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to offer 100,000 young women comprehensive training in AI technical capabilities.
As part of the program, Microsoft will empower 400,000 students in schools located in remote and tribal areas to become the next generation of AI innovators by increasing their understanding of ethical AI use and AI-enabled employment.
Microsoft and the National Programme for Civil Services Capacity Building in India will expand their collaboration, enabling 250,000 government employees to become more fluent in AI and get a basic understanding of generative AI.