Across India’s vast and diverse e ducational landscape, a silent shift is underway, but not one of replacement or disruption alone. With over 250 million students in schools and many more in higher education, the narrative that Artificial Intelligence (AI) will simply enter and transform Indian education is not just simplistic; it’s grossly misleading. It belies a complex reality – as AI enters the ecosystem, India’s many education systems will also shape it in return. This is not a story of technology replacing tradition.

It is one of mutual engagement that is fluid, contextual, and necessarily adaptive. Unlike in many countries, India does not have one singular education system. Our learning spaces range from expensive private schools in metropolitans to government-run village classrooms, from digital-first urban universities to informal local knowledge hubs. Each of these responds differently to change, and AI will be no exception. Consequently, AI will not deliver a uniform impact and must be designed to respond to India’s plural realities. Just as our classrooms are diverse, so too will be the ways AI is adopted and adapted. Globally, AI is being rapidly integrated into education systems to prepare students for an uncertain future.

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According to the World Economic Forum, nearly 40 per cent of core job skills are expected to change in the next five years. Consequently, AI literacy is becoming as important of a building block as reading or arithmetic. It is not only about using technology but also about thriving in a world intensively shaped by it.........

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