Microsoft President Smith visits a government school in Delhi and announces a plan to train 20 lakh teachers in artificial intelligence
Microsoft on Friday launched “Elevate for Educators in India”, a major initiative aimed at training 20 lakh teachers in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and reaching 2 lakh schools and educational institutions by 2030.
The programme was launched by Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith during his visit to a CM SHRI school in New Delhi. India has become the first country in Asia to roll out this initiative, which will initially be scaled across all 75 CM SHRI schools in the capital.
Speaking at the event, Smith said that as AI becomes part of everyday learning, it must strengthen education while preserving human judgment and building trust among teachers and students. He said Microsoft aims to use AI at scale in India to create new opportunities and deliver meaningful outcomes in classrooms.
According to the Delhi government, CM SHRI Schools are comprehensive institutions aligned with the vision of a developed India by 2047. These schools include AI-based smart classrooms, career counselling labs, ICT labs, digital libraries, skill labs, language labs, inclusive education resource rooms and digital portals for competitive exam preparation.
The Elevate for Educators programme is designed to integrate AI literacy, computational thinking and responsible use of technology into daily teaching and learning. It supports India’s goal of becoming an AI-first nation while ensuring AI adoption remains inclusive, ethical and human-centred.
The initiative will be implemented in partnership with key education bodies, including the Central Board of Secondary Education, National Council of Educational Research and Training, All India Council for Technical Education, National Council for Vocational Education and Training, and the Directorate General of Training, along with state education and skilling departments. The programme aims to expand AI learning opportunities to around eight million students across school, vocational and higher education systems.
Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said that skilling is central to India’s AI transformation. He noted that as AI becomes widely available, the key difference will lie in how confidently and responsibly people use it, starting with educators. He described teachers as the architects of India’s AI-first future.
Starting this academic year, AI and Computational Thinking will be introduced into school curricula from Grade 3 onwards under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Officials said Elevate for Educators adopts a system-level approach, working closely with national and state institutions to turn policy goals into real classroom practice at scale.
