Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Union government intends to convert Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) nationwide into artificial intelligence (AI) training centers.

Speaking at the second annual symposium of the Indian Foundation for Quality Management (IFQM) in the nation’s capital, Sitharaman stated that the government has prioritized skilling and upskilling over the past two to three years and has included funding for it in the yearly budgets.

She pointed out that the central government introduced a hub-and-spoke architecture to modernize the ITIs because they were not contributing to the quickly evolving industrial environment.

According to the FM, “we will be able to provide them the entire money required for upgrading these places for AI-driven training centers if these ITIs were to adopt the hub and spoke model within the state.”

“Some institutes of excellence, like the Indian Institute of Science or the IITs, have been identified by the government to establish institutions of excellence for AI-related R&D and training,” she continued.

According to FM Sitharaman, the budget was created to make sure that young people at the grassroots level receive AI-driven skills, regardless of whether they are school dropouts or graduates, have completed a degree program, or have some other type of qualification but now wish to learn AI-related abilities.

“The ITI-based formulation that will be developed will take into account all such individuals. Many states are eager to develop the model, she added, adding that these centers will give students practical AI training.

The finance minister called for private sector involvement, pointing out the urgent need to upskill India’s youth to prepare them for “quick and direct” employment after completing their education.

“How to address the shortage of human resources – not the type of degree I desire, and not enough trained. There is no rounding off of the personalities. Although the degree is present, the person is not enough developed to work for the big international corporations or Indian businesses you are referring to. We must all complete that component. In order to prepare young people for immediate and direct employment, I would like the business sector to work with the government,” Sitharaman stated.