Salesforce has announced a strategic collaboration with SmartBridge, a talent accelerator and edtech organization, to power ‘YuvaAI Bharat: GenAI Skill Catalyst’, a large-scale AI skilling initiative under the IndiaAI Mission. The program aims to equip 100,000 learners across India, from academia and industry, with future-ready AI skills by 2026 through Salesforce Trailhead, the company’s free online learning platform. This initiative aligns with the government’s vision to make India a global leader in AI innovation and talent development, ensuring the country’s youth are prepared to thrive in an AI-driven economy.
We Believe in Doing Well by Doing Good: Arundhati Bhattacharya
Speaking at the launch, Arundhati Bhattacharya, President and CEO, Salesforce South Asia, emphasized the company’s long-standing commitment to ethical innovation and community development. “Today, we’re discussing something very important for India’s future, which is skilling in AI,” she said. “At Salesforce, our values of trust, innovation, equality, and sustainability guide every product and process. We believe that while we are doing well, we must also do good for our community.”
Bhattacharya explained how Salesforce is evolving from predictive and generative AI to agentic AI signalling a new phase where digital agents can automate workflows independently, enhancing efficiency while freeing humans to focus on creativity and relationships. “Agentic AI allows routine work to be handled by intelligent agents so that people can become a little more human again by reconnecting, creating, and making a real impact,” she added.
Citing reports from NITI Aayog and Stanford AI Index, Bhattacharya highlighted India’s strong AI potential by ranking number 1 globally in AI skill penetration, with 87% of enterprises already using AI in some capacity. However, she warned of a critical AI talent gap, projecting that India will need 1.25 million skilled professionals by 2027 to sustain growth. “If we scale effectively, India can gain up to 4 million new jobs by 2031,” she said. “That’s why programs like YuvaAI Bharat are essential to prepare our youth to lead the AI revolution.”
Empowering Learners with Structured AI Journeys through SmartBridge
Amarendar Katkam, Founder and CEO of SmartBridge, highlighted the partnership’s goal of bridging the gap between academia and industry. “This initiative aims to transform the current talent ecosystem by imparting AI skills to both technical and non-technical learners,” Katkam explained. “Our goal is to train 100,000 ‘AgentBlazer’ champions through a structured and connected learning journey.”
The program’s design follows a three-tier model which is Learn, Skill, and Build, providing conceptual understanding, hands-on application, and innovation projects. Learners will progress through three levels:
- AgentBlazer Champion: Foundational AI learning
- AgentBlazer Innovator: Advanced prompt engineering and AI agent development
- AgentBlazer Legend: 360 degree lifecycle management and certification in Salesforce Agent4 Specialist
SmartBridge has already upskilled 1.5 million students and 35,000 educators across over 3,000 universities in emerging technologies. The YuvaAI Bharat program will further expand to states including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, embedding AI skilling directly into university curricula.
How IndiaAI Mission Democratizes AI Education and Opportunities
Kavita Bhatia, Group Coordinator (AI & Emerging Tech Division, MeitY) and COO, IndiaAI, lauded the initiative as a vital step in advancing India’s AI goals: “India’s AI Mission, approved in March 2024, is built on seven pillars to democratize the AI ecosystem,” she said. “Skilling is one of the most critical pillars and our goal is to ensure access not just in Tier 1 cities, but across Tier 2 and Tier 3 regions as well.”
Bhatia noted that IndiaAI is setting up 570 AI and data labs offering certified courses in AI curation and annotation, focusing on key domains such as healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing. Already, 30 labs are operational, with 1,200 students enrolled and 100 graduates placed in industry roles. “Our collaboration with Salesforce and SmartBridge ensures that these skills are implementable and industry-driven,” she added. “Together, we aim to train 100,000 learners by February 2026 and reach 1 million AI-ready professionals by the end of the year.”
Driving ‘YuvaAI Bharat’ Through University Partnerships and Inclusive Learning
Since 2022, Salesforce and SmartBridge have been actively collaborating with over 3,000 educational institutions across India to integrate AI and digital skilling programs into university curricula. These efforts include virtual internship programs, credit-based courses, and certification tracks that help students build both technical and applied AI competencies.
The new YuvaAI Bharat initiative will expand through this existing academic network, reaching students in partnership with state governments such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. Several public universities in these states have already adopted similar programs as part of their formal learning structure. To ensure scalability and continuity, SmartBridge plans to roll out a “train-the-trainer” model by equipping faculty members to serve as ambassadors and mentors who will guide students on campuses nationwide.
Importantly, the program is open to learners from all backgrounds, not just those with technical expertise. “More than technical knowledge, what matters is the ability to understand use cases and apply AI concepts in real-world scenarios,” said Amarendar Katkam. “Thanks to web coding and natural language interfaces, even non-technical students can now build logic and automation workflows without deep coding skills.”
“In fact, inclusivity is built into the very DNA of the program. I come from a literature background myself and have completed the second level of this course. It’s designed so that anyone with curiosity and problem-solving intent can learn,” added Arundhati Bhattacharya. YuvaAI Bharat comes at no cost to learners. Students can access all course resources free of charge and will also receive mentorship support from industry experts to help them navigate their learning journey and build practical AI projects.
Absolutely brilliant. Thank you for this.