BusinessWire India
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], February 13: CSRBOX, in collaboration with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), convened a high-level, closed-door pre-summit event ahead of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at The LaLiT Ashok, Bengaluru. The invitation-only convening brought together policymakers, academia, industry leaders, and civil society organisations to deliberate on the future of AI-led skilling, workforce readiness, and inclusive innovation across India.
Highlighting the importance of collaborative ecosystem-building in accelerating AI adoption, Mr Bhomik Shah, Founder & CEO, CSRBOX Group, said, "The India AI Impact Summit aims to catalyse collaboration across government, industry, academia, and development partners to ensure AI adoption remains inclusive and outcome-driven. This pre-summit convening is an important step toward building scalable skilling and workforce transformation models for India's AI future."
Aligned with the Summit's vision of enabling an accessible and inclusive AI future for the Global South, discussions focused on strengthening education and employment ecosystems to ensure equitable participation in India's digital transformation across Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, and emerging geo-cluster regions.
Senior leadership from AICTE outlined national efforts to embed Artificial Intelligence across technical education through curriculum modernisation, interdisciplinary learning pathways, mandatory internships, faculty development programmes, and expanded research fellowships. The dialogue highlighted the growing need to strengthen faculty preparedness and deepen industry engagement to accelerate the translation of academic research into industry-relevant solutions.
Dr N. H. Siddalinga Swamy, Advisor II, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Government of India, chairing the convening, emphasised the scale of AI integration and the importance of institutional readiness. He stated that,
"AI is now embedded across engineering disciplines in more than 1,000 institutions, and strengthening faculty readiness and industry collaboration will be critical to translating learning into real-world applications."
The convening also featured distinguished dignitaries, Dr Y. P. S. Berwal, Director, Directorate of Technical Education, Government of Haryana; Dr Shobha G, Director, Department of Collegiate Education, Government of Karnataka; Mr John Hongray, Assistant Director, North Eastern Regional Office, AICTE; and Mahip Singh, CEO, Innovation Hub, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU), Government of Uttar Pradesh. They shared policy and state-level implementation perspectives on strengthening AI-driven workforce development ecosystems across regions.
More than 40 leaders from corporates, government institutions, academia, and implementation agencies participated in the dialogue, sharing insights from AI skilling pilots, workforce readiness programmes, and partnership models integrating technology, financing, and last-mile implementation. Industry participation included Capgemini, Lenovo India, EY GDS, IBM, Biocon, Zscaler, Hitachi, Cognizant Foundation, GE Healthcare, Bosch India Foundation, Kyndryl, and Oracle, reflecting growing private sector engagement in strengthening India's AI talent ecosystem.
Participants emphasised the importance of transitioning from standalone training initiatives to integrated ecosystem models linking skilling programmes with employment, entrepreneurship, and innovation pathways. Anurag highlighted the need for the industry to move beyond short-term training interventions and contribute to end-to-end skilling models that connect learning with real employment outcomes and workforce transition pathways.
Discussions also underscored the importance of embedding ethical, transparent, and human-centric AI principles into education and workforce development frameworks. Rumi emphasised the need to integrate responsible AI practices into skilling programmes to build trust and ensure inclusive and equitable technology adoption across diverse communities.
State representatives and implementation partners further highlighted challenges related to curriculum relevance, digital infrastructure, programme continuity, and alignment between skilling interventions and career pathways. These insights informed emerging geo-cluster-based implementation approaches aimed at improving scalability and measurable employment outcomes.
The pre-summit dialogue will contribute to the development of a principle-based collaborative charter guiding cross-sector partnerships and policy alignment under the India AI Impact Summit 2026, with a focus on advancing responsible and scalable AI adoption across sectors.
The engagement will continue at the India AI Summit 2026 through the India Future Skills and AI Collaborative Session - Bridging the Global AI Divide: From Principles to Practice, alongside interactions at the AI for Better Bharat® Pavilion hosted by CSRBOX, scheduled as follows:
India Future Skills and AI Collaborative Session
Date: 17 February 2026
Time: 5:30 PM - 6:25 PM
Venue: Meeting Room 18, Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
AI for Better Bharat® Pavilion
Booth 1.10
Location: Ground Floor, Hall 1, Bharat Mandapam
Dates: 16-20 February 2026
The initiative reflects a growing multi-stakeholder commitment to advancing responsible, inclusive, and sustainable AI adoption aligned with India's long-term development priorities.
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