New Delhi, 01 January (H.S.): President Droupadi Murmu hailed Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a big opportunity to catalyze positive transformation on Thursday, stressing the imperative to democratize its dividends across society, particularly for underprivileged strata.

Delivering keynote remarks at a Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) event under the Skill India Mission's SOAR—Skilling for AI Readiness—at Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre, she underscored AI's trajectory as India's economic powerhouse, poised to amplify GDP, spawn jobs, and elevate productivity over forthcoming decades.

Imperative for Equitable Deployment

Murmu advocated harnessing AI to dismantle societal, economic, and technological impediments, positioning it not merely as innovation but as an equalizer for a youthful nation marching toward Viksit Bharat. She spotlighted burgeoning proficiencies in data science, AI engineering, and analytics as linchpins for nurturing India's AI talent reservoir amid its ascent to the world's third-largest economy.

Milestone Initiatives and Collaborations

Murmu conferred AI proficiency certificates upon diverse learners—including students and Members of Parliament—while inaugurating the #SkillTheNation Challenge, a nationwide campaign to galvanize youth engagement in AI skilling, alongside a Google-partnered AI for Beginners interactive module led by a global expert.

Complementing these, she remotely launched the IGNOU Regional Centre at Rairangpur, Odisha, to bolster employability via skill-centric education, while lauding governmental synergy with industry and academia under the India AI Mission to forge ethical leadership in digital infrastructure.

Broader Vision for Technological Empowerment

The President extolled school-level AI labs and models for instilling innovative acumen in children, aligning with the New Education Policy to morph India into a knowledge superpower. Attended by Union Ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jayant Chaudhary, the programme epitomizes MSDE's pivot toward accessible, inclusive AI readiness amid sector-wide skill metamorphosis.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar