New Delhi: From replacing lecture-heavy teaching with real-world AI projects in the first semester to learning for colleges and building a shared national GPU infrastructure, the Center is gearing up for a massive overhaul of India’s AI curriculum. and advanced machine learning technologies.Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vishnu on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting of the AI Curriculum Task Force, where government officials, industry representatives and academic stakeholders discussed a roadmap for redesigning AI education in Indian institutions with stronger industry integration, faculty training and practical exposure.The move comes amid an aggressive push by the government to position India as a global AI talent and innovation hub while addressing industry concerns over a growing gap between classroom learning and capable AI skills.According to the ministry, the task force in collaboration with industry experts and Nascom conducted a baseline study of existing B.Tech Computer Science and related curricula in Indian institutions. While the review found that AI-related content has grown significantly in recent years, it identified major gaps in teaching, infrastructure and practical exposure to emerging fields such as generative AI, machine learning operations (MLOps) and basic model development.One of the key recommendations discussed during the meeting was a shift towards “application-based teaching”, whereby students would work on industry use cases and AI solution engineering projects from the early stages of their program rather than relying more on classroom lectures.The proposed framework also recommends adding AI courses directly into the formal academic credit system with a semester-wise rollout along with a substantial increase in exposure to practical learning. Officials said the current practical component of around 25-30 per cent could be increased to 40 per cent to 75 per cent depending on the program and expertise.The consultation also suggested a number of flexible entry-exit pathways linked to the national education policy framework, including certificates after one year, diplomas after two years and advanced diplomas after three years.Participants emphasized that curriculum reform will require parallel investment in teacher preparation. Recommendations include structured train-the-trainer programs, standardized assessment systems, developed teaching materials, and modernization of laboratories in line with existing industrial tools and platforms.The task force also proposed the creation of a national shared AI infrastructure model to provide equitable access to GPU compute capacity, edge devices, software stacks, and subscription-based AI platforms at colleges and universities with collaboration from industry, government, and academia.Officials said discussions will now be held with AICTE for a phased integration of the revised syllabus, including for existing batches in advanced semesters. A separate workstream is also being planned to increase AI literacy and apply AI learning to non-STEM subjects.
