Over 18.56 lakh youths sign up on ‘FutureSkills PRIME’ for re-skilling: Govt

The Government considers the next decade to be ‘India’s Techade’. Over the last nine years, India has become a pre-eminent nation in developing technologies for the benefit of its citizens and transforming their lives.

India continues to lead in AI talent and skill penetration, according to recent reports.

The Stanford AI Index 2024 highlights that India tops global AI skill penetration rates and AI talent concentration. India’s AI skill penetration is rated at 2.8, surpassing the United States (2.2) and Germany (1.9).

Additionally, India’s AI talent concentration has seen significant growth, with a 263% increase from 2016 onwards. As per the BCG-NASSCOM report 2024, the AI market in India is witnessing robust growth, projected at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25-35%.

The information was shared by the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada in a written reply in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

AI may result in automating some routine jobs but will also result in job creation in various data science, data curation, etc. This will require reskilling and upskilling, for which the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has initiated ‘FutureSkills PRIME’ a program for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies including Artificial Intelligence.

Under this program so far, more than 18.56 Lakh candidates have signed up on the FutureSkills PRIME Portal, out of which, over 3.37 Lakh candidates have completed their course.

The Scheme of Centres of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence implemented by MeitY in partnership with NASSCOM, is supporting Startups in developing AI-based tools and applications that are of use to manufacturing companies. Several such solutions have been deployed by companies in the manufacturing sector.

National e-Governance Division (NeGD), MeitY in collaboration with its partners, has implemented ‘YUVAi: Youth for Unnati and Vikas with AI’- A National Programme for School Students to enable school students from classes 8th to 12th with AI tech and social skills in an inclusive manner. The program will provide a platform for youth to learn and apply AI skills in 8 thematic areas- Krishi, Aarogya, Shiksha, Paryavaran, Parivahan, Grameen Vikas, Smart Cities and Vidhi aur Nyaay.