Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw recently met Meta’s Chief AI Scientist Yann LeCun to explore opportunities for collaboration in AI with a focus on job creation and skill development in India. In a post on social media platform X, the minister highlighted how India’s AI Mission supports industry-academia-government partnerships.

“We met @ylecun (Yann LeCun) from Meta to discuss Bharat’s AI potential. Our AI mission is driven forward by strong collaborations between industry, government and academia: GenAI CoE with IIT Jodhpur and Meta. YuvAI Skilling will train 1,00,000 students in LLM with AICTE and Meta,” Vaishnaw shared.

On October 25, IndiaAI and Meta announced the launch of ‘YuvAI Initiative for Skill Development and Capacity Building’ in collaboration with the All India Technical Council, along with a partnership establishing the Center for Generative Artificial Intelligence called ‘Srijan’ at IIT Jodhpur. Education (AICTE). This partnership aims to enhance India’s AI capabilities by developing indigenous applications, advancing skills development, and supporting research that will contribute to the country’s vision of technology sovereignty.

Under this collaboration, Meta will support the establishment of the Center for Generative Artificial Intelligence “GenAI CoE” at IIT Jodhpur. The primary objective of the center is to promote responsible and ethical AI innovation in India by focusing on open science and fostering a strong AI research ecosystem. By advancing generative AI, the CoE aims to empower researchers, students, and practitioners through dedicated educational resources, policy recommendations, and capacity-building initiatives.

In addition to the GenAI CoE, Meta and AICTE have launched the ‘YuvAI Initiative’, a skills and capacity development program aimed at bridging the talent gap in artificial intelligence. This program will train 100,000 students and young developers aged 18-30 in open source large language models (LLM) over the next three years. The initiative focuses on sectors critical to India’s development, such as healthcare, education, agriculture, smart cities and financial inclusion.

The YuvAI program will include a Next Generation AI Resource Center offering access to lectures, case studies and datasets; Master’s Course for Young Developers from Meta; and basic workshops on artificial intelligence concepts. Participants will also participate in “Unleash LLM Hackathons” where students will propose AI solutions to pressing real-world problems.

Promising ideas from these hackathons will be given mentorship, seed funding and market exposure. Additionally, the AI ​​Innovation Accelerator will support 10 student-led startups exploring open-source AI models, providing resources for incubation and growth.

Through this collaboration, IndiaAI and Meta aim to strengthen India’s AI ecosystem, build a skilled AI workforce, and contribute to India’s long-term AI mission and technological growth.

(with ANI entries)