Policy Update
Shivani Chauhan
Background
The Skilling for AI Readiness (SOAR) initiative is a national-level policy intervention by the Government of India to include basic Artificial Intelligence (AI) literacy into school education, responding to the rapid integration of AI in our daily lives and the workplace. It is aimed at bringing the Indian school education system in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which recommends introducing contemporary technology‑enabled subjects such as AI at appropriate stages of schooling.
Policy and education‑system context
The NEP 2020 explicitly calls for introducing multidisciplinary, future-oriented subjects like computational thinking and AI in the school curriculum to promote innovation, digital literacy and critical thinking skills. Conforming to it, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has already introduced AI as an elective subject in Class IX and later extended it to Class XI, providing the institutional groundwork for a multi‑board education roll-out. SOAR takes this initial initiative further by formalising a structured AI‑literacy program for all school students, not only those in CBSE schools.
Technological and labour‑market drivers
Globally, AI is transforming education, health, manufacturing, services and public administration. This demands for a workforce that understands AI tools and their ethical implications. India’s goals to scale up its digital economy and become”a significant part of the global AI job market has necessitated the need to “future‑proof” the skill profile of its school going population. SOAR responds to this by treating students from classes 6 to 12 as future users, creators, and regulators of AI.
Inclusion and equity rationale
SOAR aims to bridge the rural‑urban digital divide and to prevent AI literacy from becoming the preserve of well-resourced schools and institutions. The programme is offered as an online, self‑paced course on the Skill’India Digital Hub, allowing access to both government and private schools across the country. By the inclusion of AI skills in the school curriculum and offering teachers an “AI for educators” module, the policy seeks to ensure’that all students will have a more level playing field to enter the AI‑powered economy.
Source: Hindustan Times, March 2026, Only 13% of 2.3 lakh enrolled learners in govt’s AI courses certified: Govt data
Functioning
SOAR is a multi‑level, structured programme that integrates AI literacy in school education through graded modules, online content and teacher training. It is implemented jointly by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and the Ministry of Education, with the assistance from state governments, schools and digital‑skills platforms.
1. Who is covered and how
SOAR aims to reach students in classes 6 to 12 in government and private schools all over India, regardless of board affiliation. The programme also offers a separate, longer module for teachers (AI for Educators) so that they can facilitate classroom discussions and activities around AI.
2. Design of the learning modules
For students, SOAR offers three graded, 15‑hour modules, usually completed within the school timetable (digital or skill‑lab periods):
AI to be Aware: Explores basic AI concepts, everyday applications of AI, safe and ethical use of AI tools.
AI to Acquire: Builds on basics with hands-on activities, simple coding concepts and an understanding of how AI systems learn and make decisions.
AI to Aspire: Focuses on AI‑powered careers, innovation, and how students can use AI in projects, research and social enterprises.
For teachers, the 45‑hour AI for Educators module covers AI fundamentals, strategies of how to incorporate AI in classrooms and how to assess AI projects.
Industry partnerships have played a central role in curriculum development, including collaborations with CII, NASSCOM, Microsoft, Max Healthcare, Sector Skill Councils across Beauty & Wellness, Life Sciences, Tourism, Agriculture, Retail, Furniture & Fittings, Handicrafts, and others.
3. Mode of Delivery and platform
The SOAR courses are hosted on the Skill India Digital Hub (SIDH) as online, self‑paced modules that can be accessed’even in remote or low‑resourced schools with access to the internet. Students and educators use institutional or government-issued credentials to access course videos, interactive exercises, and quizzes, with progress tracked at the individual and school level.
4. Certification and progression
The student modules are structured as micro‑credentials, aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), each carrying defined notional hours and credit values. Upon completion, the learners are awarded with a digital certificate, which can be used to build towards vocational or higher‑education pathways.
In summary, SOAR functions as a school‑based, online, modular AI‑literacy programme that simultaneously trains students (Classes 6-12) and’teachers, uses the Skill India Digital platform, and uses micro‑credentials to link AI learning to future skills and jobs.
Performance
So far the performance of SOAR has been high in terms of scale and reach, but moderate in terms of certification/completion rates. With early signs of strong demand from students and teachers, the official data shows that’there are high enrolment numbers, though only a proportion of these learners have completed the full certification path, which is broadly in line with global trends for free online‑learning platforms
1. Scale of participation
Since July 2025, the SOAR initiative has enrolled over 2.3 lakh learners across four courses on artificial intelligence (AI) on the Skill India Digital Hub. The highest enrolled’course, SOAR – “AI to Be Aware”, had about 1.17 lakh enrolments, indicating a good initial interest among school students and teachers.
2. Certificate and Completion rates
Of the roughly 2.3 lakh enrolments, around 29,800 learners have completed their course, implying an overall certification rate of about 13%. In terms of course‑level completion rates, the two courses, “AI to Be Aware” and “AI to Aspire” both have been completed by about 13.4% of learners, which government officials note is in line with international best practices for free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC‑style) platforms, where completion rates ranges from 5-15%.
3. Measures of reach and inclusion
SOAR aims to reach rural and urban schools across India through the Skill India Digital Hub, and data suggest that the program’has had broad reach. The government cites the fact that the program is producing an ever‑growing number of AI‑literate students and teachers, that it is now beginning to contribute towards digital‑inclusion and skilling‑for-AI‑readiness targets, even if completion rates are low.
Source: Hindustan Times, March 2026, Only 13% of 2.3 lakh enrolled learners in govt’s AI courses certified: Govt data
Source: Hindustan Times, March 2026, Only 13% of 2.3 lakh enrolled learners in govt’s AI courses certified: Govt data
Below are state wise completion rates for each course (Data as of 23rd February 2026):
Source: Press Information Bureau, 2026, SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness) programme
Impact
The impact of SOAR so far is probably early but strategic and important: it is starting to change the landscape of AI awareness and skill‑building in school education, though we are still waiting for concrete outcome metrics on long‑term learning or employment outcomes. The program is already making an impact on policy, practice and capacity building rather than finalised impact numbers.
1. On students and classrooms
SOAR is helping to make AI from an abstract idea into a formal, structured and age‑appropriate subject for some 2.3 lakh enrolled learners. By incorporating modules on awareness, usage and aspirational career opportunities around AI into the school curriculum, the initiative is slowly imparting digital literacy, critical thinking and basic computational thinking skills, as well as safe and ethical use of AI tools.
2. On teachers and institutions
The ‘AI for Educators’ module has started to upskill teachers to weave discussions and projects around AI into mainstream subjects like science, maths and social studies, rather than as an elective. This helps schools, particularly rural and government‑clustered ones, narrow some of the urban–rural digital‑divide and develop a group of teachers who can demonstrate ethical AI application and project‑based learning.
3. On skills and future‑readiness
SOAR is positioned as a foundational layer of India’s broader AI‑skilling landscape, connecting the short‑term micro‑credentials in AI‑literacy to future vocational and higher‑education options. Through its alignment with NEP 2020 and collaborations with industry (such as Microsoft, HCL, NASSCOM), the programme is starting to signal AI-readiness as a core skill for school level learners, which can influence later enrolment in AI-related careers.
Way Forward
SOAR’s next steps should be to improve classroom integration, create greater incentives for completion, and to build an AI‑literacy pipeline from schools to colleges and jobs. At its current scale and in its early stages, this is an initiative that could transform from being a standalone digital-literacy initiative to becoming a key component in India’s AI-readiness strategy.
The next phase of SOAR should be to shift from ‘awareness‑creation’ to ‘system‑level integration’: by considering AI literacy as a continuous, assessable and stackable skill, spanning Classes 6-12 to higher education and employment; while using data and feedback loops to refine delivery and deepen inclusion.
References
PIB Delhi, 2026, SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness) programme, Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
Hindustan Times, 2026, Only 13% of 2.3 lakh enrolled learners in govt’s AI courses certified: Govt data, Hindustan Times.
PIB Delhi, 2026, SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness) programme, Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
2025, Integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into School Curricula, Education for All in India.
PIB Delhi, 2025, SOAR Fostering AI-Driven Education and Skill Development, Press Information Bureau, Government of India.
About the Contributor
Shivani Chauhan is a Research & Editorial intern at IMPRI. She’s pursuing M.A. Education and Development from National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration. Her interest lies in education, public policy and governance.
Acknowledgment
The author extends sincere gratitude to the IMPRI team for their expert guidance and constructive feedback throughout the process.
Disclaimer
All views expressed in the article belong solely to the author and not necessarily to the organisation.
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