Microsoft joins hands with IndiaAI: As of October 2023, Microsoft has allied with an Indian government-run agency IndiaAI to provide AI training lessons to 5 lakh people, comprising of students, women entrepreneurs, government officials, and educators, and developers by the deadline of 2026. The IndiaAI is the Independent Business Division under the Digital India Corporation which has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian government for the overarching purpose of bridging adoption and the development gap of artificial intelligence in India.

Chandok further mentioned that Microsoft’s Chairman Satya Nadella announced a $3 billion investment during his visit at India stating that ‘he aims to build infrastructure and the necessary capacity in this country.’ This happens to align with IndiaAI’s goal of providing education to the masses, as Chandok suggested that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of providing computer education and technology to 15 crore people is now a possibility. As of now, the company successfully trained 24 lakh people last year and its goal is to reach the target of 1 crore trained individuals in the upcoming 5 years.

Some notable aspects of the partnership are as follows:

By 2026, Microsoft in conjunction with IndiaAI aims to train half a million people including students, teachers, engineers, government workers and women business owners.

Create “AI Catalysts,” which will be a Center of Excellence that will facilitate rural AI development in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns and will provide 100,000 AI developers and innovators through   hackathons, community outreach and an AI ecosystem.

Establish AI Productivity Labs for NTIS/ NIELIT – 20 across 10 states, to reach 20,000 teachers, then equip 100,000 learners by offering basic AI training via 200 Industrial Training Institutes.

Develop much-needed answeriser solutions in selected key impact sectors based on the strengths of Microsoft Research (MSR).

The Founders Hub programme will grant Azure credits, business tools and advising services to up to thousand AI developed projects that are part of the IndiaAI Mission as aid for the country’s start-up growth strategy.

Create baseline models with various Indic languages in order to cater to India’s deeper linguistic variations and requirements and set up culturally and contextually appropriate.

Enable IndiaAI to develop end to end scalable datasets platform along with active datasets management, tagging, and creation of synthetic datasets.

Work with others to develop guidelines, policies, and evaluation criteria regarding the proper and responsible use of AI, and assist in efforts to set up an AI Safety Institute in India.

Seek to ensure that India occupies a primo position in as far as the application of AI is concerned.

Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission On the need to promote innovative collaborative work for India, remarked that AI has unlimited potential Replying to Singh, ‘The Government of India has since 2020 worked on the Indian AI mission as an umbrella to solve fundamental questions which will enable India to emerge as a superpower in developing AI-based solutions. This always happens there is an emphasis on developing linkages with industry and academic institutions’.

Addressing this issue, the memorandum of understanding with Microsoft targets strengthening the three pillars of IndiaAI Mission skilling, innovation and responsible AI building efforts. We are enhancing the AI ecosystem in the country by up skilling 500000 people, establishing Centers of Excellence fostering innovation, and providing sector-specific AI solutions. This promotes ethical AI and encourages underprivileged to benefit from initiatives that help stimulate economic development. Our joint goal is to make India a world leader in AI development and create a fair and safe society for everyone,’ he said.

The partnership also aims at ensuring that India occupies a leading position in AI driven development while also ensuring that economic development is inclusive and sustainable.