The Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave 2026 was inaugurated today at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, with Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan calling for the adoption of scalable, ethical, and responsible AI across India’s education ecosystem. The event was attended by Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State for Education, along with senior officials, academic leaders, researchers, and founders of AI-driven startups.
During the event, Pradhan launched the Bodhan AI Centre of Excellence, a major initiative aimed at integrating AI into school education, higher education, and skilling. The Conclave serves as a national platform for ecosystem mapping, strategic partnerships, and collaborative development of AI-powered learning solutions, marking the launch of the Bharat EduAI Stack, an open, interoperable architecture designed to scale AI in education nationwide.
The conclave focuses on four key verticals: AI for School Education, AI for Higher Education, AI for Skilling and Workforce Readiness, and AI Research and Deep Technology. Pradhan emphasized that India’s AI ecosystem will be inclusive, interoperable, and sovereign, supporting teachers, empowering students, and promoting ethical, responsible, and India-centric AI solutions. He highlighted the Prime Minister’s vision of an AI-ready India and expressed confidence that the conclave would strengthen India’s AI leadership, enhance digital public infrastructure in education, and ensure AI for All.
Sukanta Majumdar underscored the importance of S.A.F.E. AI—Secure, Accountable, Fair, and Empowering—to guide technology for inclusive progress ahead of the India-AI Impact Summit 2026.
The event also featured an AI innovation exhibition and witnessed key collaborations and launches, including an MoU between IIT Bombay and Columbia University to establish a Centre of AI for Manufacturing, the IIM Lucknow AI Programme, institutional partnerships with IIM Jammu and AIT Bangkok, the IIM Ranchi Teaching with AI initiative, and a presentation on Bodhan.ai, the AI Centre of Excellence at IIT Madras.
Two technical sessions were held: one on School Education & Classroom Solutions, featuring leaders from Rocket Learning, CK-12 Foundation, Khan Academy, Vedantu, and LEAD Group, and another on Teacher Capacity Building, Foundational Learning & Systemic Reform, with experts from EkStep Foundation, IIT Bombay, Sampark Foundation, TCS Foundation, and Vidya Shakti. These sessions highlighted scalable AI-enabled solutions for improving classroom learning, teacher support, governance, and foundational learning interventions.
The Conclave will continue on 13 February 2026, with sessions focusing on Digital Public Infrastructure, AI Platforms, Emerging Technologies, Skills, and Higher Education.
Nurturing Creativity – Keekli Charitable Trust, Shimla
