AI to make up 10% of India’s $5 tn economy, Microsoft to train 2 mn Indians, says Satya Nadella

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, announced on Wednesday a bold initiative aimed at equipping India’s youth with essential AI skills, signalling a renewed commitment to the country’s technological advancement. The ambitious plan, known as ADVANTA(I)GE INDIA, aims to train 2 million students, job seekers, and women in AI by the year 2025. The initiative will see Microsoft collaborating with governments, non-profit organizations, and corporate entities to deliver comprehensive training programs. Notably, a partnership with Tata STRIVE, the skill development arm of Tata Trusts, will facilitate training for students and facilitate connections to job opportunities or internships. During his visit to Mumbai for the Microsoft CEO Connection event, Nadella reiterated Microsoft’s support for India’s vision of nurturing a self-reliant AI workforce, emphasizing the transformative potential of AI across various sectors, including government offices and non-profit organizations. Acknowledging the pressing need for digital upskilling, Microsoft cited a report by PwC revealing that 79% of Indian employees perceive acquiring digital skills as extremely necessary over the next five years. Additionally, 61% of Indian workers emphasized the importance of adopting green skills to support environmentally sustainable decisions, reflecting a strong demand for skill enhancement within the workforce. Microsoft’s initiative aims for inclusivity across social strata, gender, and income levels. The company plans to partner with 10 Indian state governments to provide basic and advanced AI training to 500,000 students and job seekers in 100 rural educational institutions. This effort builds upon existing collaborations with the Indian Ministry focused on training Gen Z in digital and cybersecurity skills. This latest commitment supplements Nadella’s earlier pledge to train 100,000 Indian developers in Azure AI usage, solution deployment, and coding proficiency. The comprehensive training program, open to individuals of all backgrounds and expertise levels, encompasses two levels of training, focusing on AI application and problem-solving skills. Moreover, Microsoft aims to empower women in rural areas and Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities by deploying 5,000 instructors at higher education institutions to train 100,000 women. Additionally, the company intends to train 400,000 students in remote, tribal, and agrarian regions through three global initiatives. Amidst burgeoning AI adoption, India’s workforce faces a critical gap in AI expertise, as highlighted by Microsoft’s Work Trend Index. While 90% of Indian leaders acknowledge the need for AI-prepared workers, 78% of workers feel inadequately equipped with AI knowledge for their current roles. While speaking to Shereen Bhan of Moneycontrol, Network18, Nadella also spoke of how crucial AI will be for India’s economic ambitions of becoming a $5 trillion economy. “I think the economic data I’ve seen is if the Indian economy is going to be, $5 trillion, the AI-driven part of it could be something like maybe 10% of it, maybe $500 billion of it. What we are going to do is, and all of that is being powered by things like cloud computing with these frontier models, open source models, small language models, and so on. And so our capital investment and human capital investment will fit into that. So the way I think about it is if Microsoft has X revenue inside the country, that means there needs to be 99% more revenue created because of the output of compute.” Recognizing the potential of AI to address socio-economic disparities, Microsoft’s initiative aligns with India’s aspirations for inclusive economic growth. Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, emphasized the country’s vast potential to emerge as a global AI leader, emphasizing the imperative of fostering AI fluency at scale. In addressing India’s economic landscape, Nadella underscored the pivotal role of AI, projecting it to contribute significantly to the nation’s economy. He outlined Microsoft’s strategic investments in capital and human resources to harness the transformative power of AI, paving the way for substantial economic growth and technological advancement. Microsoft’s commitment to AI training underscores its dedication to fostering inclusive technological advancement, positioning India for a future characterized by innovation and prosperity.