India’s Demand for AI Professionals to Hit 1 million by 2026: MeitY
The demand for artificial intelligence (AI) professionals in India is anticipated to reach 1 million by the coming time, according to a recent report from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) named ‘ India’s AI Revolution: A Roadmap to Viksit Bharat’. The report outlines the government’s strategic enterprise to expand AI education and strengthen the country’s talent channel in emerging technologies.
The India AI Future Skills initiative involves integrating AI education into undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs. The government is providing fellowships to full-time PhD students in AI from the top 50 institutions ranked by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF). To broaden its scope, AI and data laboratories are being created in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, with the India AI Data Lab model currently functioning at NIELIT Delhi.
Engineering Seats Surge Amid AI Boom
The All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) reported a sharp rise in approved BTech seats for the 2024–25 academic year, increasing to 14.9 lakh, a 16% rise over four years. Notably, seats in high-demand domains, such as AI/ML, data science, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and blockchain, have increased by over 50%.
MeitY notes that this surge aligns with industry demand for future-ready professionals and is backed by major reforms in academic curricula. Universities are updating programs to include AI, 5G, and semiconductor design, in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, aiming to shorten the education-to-employment transition.
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IIT Madras Launches Free AI Courses
To further democratize access to AI education, IIT Madras has launched five free online AI courses on its SWAYAM Plus platform. These courses are open to learners from diverse academic backgrounds and are designed to provide a foundation in AI technologies.
The government’s multipronged approach signals its intent to position India as a global AI talent hub, while addressing domestic skill gaps critical to digital transformation.
