AI and the transformation of India's education system

 India’s education system, one of the largest and most complex in the world, is poised for a profound transformation. With over 200 million students and nearly 10 million educators, the challenge of delivering quality, equitable, and future-ready education is immense. However, a powerful catalyst has emerged to address this challenge: Artificial Intelligence (AI). No longer a futuristic concept, AI is rapidly being integrated into the fabric of Indian education, shifting the focus from traditional rote learning to personalised, skill-based, and holistic development. This transformation is being driven by a three-pronged approach: robust government policy and investment, proactive adoption by higher education institutions, and tangible innovations at the school level. The Policy Foundation: NEP 2020 and Government Initiatives. The cornerstone of India's AI in education revolution is the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. NEP 2020 explicitly emphasises the transformative role of technology, advocating for the integration of AI, machine learning, and adaptive learning tools to enhance every facet of the education ecosystem. This policy vision has been translated into concrete action through significant government initiatives and financial commitments. A landmark development was the announcement in the Union Budget 2025-26 of a ₹500 crore Centre of Excellence (COE) in Artificial Intelligence for Education. Established at IIT Madras, this COE is envisioned as a national hub to drive research, foster innovation, and develop scalable, context-aware AI solutions for teaching, learning, and assessment. Its goal is to bridge the skill gap, prepare a future-ready workforce, and ensure that AI benefits learners across all higher education institutions. Building on this foundation, the Ministry of Education has been actively pushing the boundaries of AI integration. At the India AI Impact Summit 2026, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan underscored that “AI in education and education in AI are deeply intertwined,” positioning technology as key to realising the vision of Visit Bharat 2047. The summit served as a platform to deliberate on governance frameworks, indigenous AI innovation, and a national roadmap for sustainable impact.

 Parallel to these efforts, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship launched the Training for AI Readiness (SOAR) program in July 2025. Targeted at students from classes 6 to 12 and their educators, SOAR offers specialised modules to foster foundational AI literacy, covering basic machine learning concepts and the ethical use of AI. This initiative aims to bridge the urban-rural digital divide and empower the next generation with skills essential for an AI-driven economy. AI in Higher Education: A New Era of Learning and Research. The policy push from the top is being met with enthusiastic adoption at some of India’s premier academic institutions. A groundbreaking development in this space is the partnership announced by OpenAI with a consortium of leading Indian universities in February 2026. This initiative aims to embed AI systematically into the core academic and research infrastructure of institutions like IIT Delhi, IIM Ahmedabad, and AIMS New Delhi, impacting over 100,000 students and faculty. This collaboration goes beyond merely providing access to tools like ChatGPT EDU. It is about discipline-specific integration: At IIT Delhi, AI will be leveraged for engineering-led innovation, research, and complex problem-solving. IIM Ahmedabad will embed AI fluency into management education across strategy, finance, and operations, and will also roll out formal AI certifications. AIMS New Delhi is exploring the use of AI in medical education and clinical training, with plans to establish an “AI in Medical Education Hub” to ensure safety and ethical standards in healthcare. Institutions like Manipal Academy of Higher Education and Pearl Academy are focusing on multidisciplinary AI literacy and its application in creative fields like design and digital media. This partnership highlights a shift from viewing AI as a mere tool to recognising it as a fundamental component of academic excellence and professional preparation.

The School Classroom: Where AI Meets the Future. The impact of AI is perhaps most visible in the K-12 school system, where it is beginning to reshape everyday classroom experiences. A powerful example is the initiative by Microsoft, which launched the 'Elevate for Educators' program in India, with Delhi being the first city in Asia to roll it out. The program aims to train 2 million teachers and reach 200,000 schools by 2030. At Delhi's CM SSRI Schools, this transformation is already underway. Teachers are using Microsoft Copilot as a "thinking partner" to create customised lesson plans, infographics, and real-time feedback mechanisms. The impact is deeply personal and inclusive. For instance, a teacher used AI to create customised motivational tools for an autistic student, while others are using it to simplify complex concepts and encourage higher-order thinking in language classes. Most strikingly, students are moving from being consumers to creators of technology, developing projects like "Parakh AI," which can identify objects like fruits and provide detailed information.

 This demonstrates the power of AI to foster inquiry-based, joyful, and inclusive learning. Navigating the Challenges and the Road Ahead Despite the immense potential, the integration of AI in education is not without its challenges. The central government's Bharat Johan AI Conclave 2026 brought these issues into sharp focus. Key among them is the need to scale successful pilot projects to reach every learner across the country's diverse landscape. Experts underscored that multilingual AI is essential for equitable national adoption, ensuring that technology supports India's linguistic diversity rather than creating new divides. Furthermore, as Delhi's Education Minister Ashish Sood aptly noted, “AI must remain a tool that strengthens learning, not replaces it. This sentiment was echoed throughout the Padua 2.0 conclave, where the focus was on strengthening teacher training in AI literacy and developing ethical, context-aware pedagogical frameworks. The consensus is clear: teacher empowerment is the single biggest leverage point for improving learning outcomes with AI. The road ahead involves moving from aspiration to action, building robust national platforms, and ensuring that AI serves as a bridge to equity, accessibility, and excellence for every student in India.