NIELIT‑Intel AI Skilling Initiative Targets 1 Crore Youth
On 3 September 2026, the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), partnered with Intel India to host a National Leadership Dialogue titled “Preparing the Future Workforce for the Agentic AI Era” at the India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The event convened senior officials from the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, the Department of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, the IndiaAI Mission, as well as representatives from foreign embassies, academia, industry and the broader skilling ecosystem.
Chief Guest Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Chairperson of the Central Board of Film Certification, highlighted the critical role of continuous learning and employability in the Agentic AI era and praised NIELIT and Intel for democratising AI skills. Dr. M. M. Tripathi, Director General of NIELIT, affirmed the institute’s commitment to equip learners and educators for the next phase of AI transformation, leveraging Intel’s technology expertise to extend Agentic AI learning nationwide. Shri Sudeep Shrivastava, COO of the IndiaAI Mission and Joint Secretary, MeitY, reiterated the government’s vision of building a strong AI talent pipeline and stressed the importance of industry‑led training, AI data labs and academia‑industry partnerships. Mr. Anshul Sonak, Head & Global Director of Intel, and Ms. Shweta Khurana, Senior Director, Asia Pacific & Japan, International Government Affairs, Intel, underscored that human readiness will determine success as AI evolves toward agentic and physical intelligence, and that investing in AI skills strengthens economic resilience and technological sovereignty.
The dialogue culminated in the launch of the NIELIT‑Intel India Agentic AI Skilling Initiative, a common training programme designed to contribute directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Red Fort call to train one crore youth in AI skills within a year. The initiative introduced two distinct programmes:
1. Agentic AI for Everyone – a curriculum that introduces learners to workflow automation, AI agents and multi‑agent systems, emphasizing productivity gains, business transformation and intelligent decision‑making through hands‑on exposure to designing and governing AI‑powered workflows using no‑code platforms.
2. Engineering Agentic AI Systems – a more technical track that equips participants with practical experience on no‑code/low‑code platforms and code‑based frameworks, covering agent architecture, tool integration, orchestration, memory management and deployment of scalable, production‑ready agentic solutions.
Beyond these two programmes, the dialogue initiated the drafting of a larger, common national programme for AI training. Ministries, the IndiaAI Mission, industry partners and academia will collaborate to define curricula, faculty development, hands‑on infrastructure, assessment, certification and industry linkages, ensuring Agentic AI skilling can be delivered at national scale. Leading national and international corporations, along with sovereign AI model‑building firms such as Gnani.ai, are expected to join the effort in the coming weeks, contributing technology platforms, expertise and industry perspectives.
The launch marks a concrete step toward achieving the Prime Minister’s one‑crore AI‑skilling target, aligning the skilling ecosystem with the rapid deployment pace demonstrated in India’s 5G rollout and semiconductor talent development initiatives.