Expectations of the Youth
The Indian youth of 2026-represented by students across disciplines from Sanskrit to journalism have high expectations from the AI revolution. They are no longer satisfied with mere digital versions of textbooks; they seek a comprehensive ecosystem that offer Accessibility and Equity. Students in rural areas emphasize that while technology opens new worlds, it must be accompanied by reliable internet and affordable devices to prevent the digital divide from widening.
11
ravia.gupta@gmail.com
As India moves steadily towards Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, the year 2026 stands as a defining moment for the nation’s education sector. With a student population exceeding 250 million and a network of over 1.5 million schools, the traditional model of education defined by fixed curriculums and standard delivery methods is in a transition stage. Driven by the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) and the Digital India campaign, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept but a functional reality operating in Indian classrooms already with a shift towards personalised, inclusive, and future-ready learning.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (2025), 92?million jobs may be lost (most vulnerable to automation are typically repetitive, template-driven, or involve tasks that AI can now do faster and cheaper) while 170?million new roles will emerge. Around 63 in every 100 Indian workers will require training, reskilling by 2030. 30% of businesses in India are adopting skills-based hiring by removing degree requirements, compared to 19% globally.
AI-Driven Change
India will host AI Impact Summit 2026 in Feb at New Delhi. This will be the first global AI summit in the Global South, following events like UK AI Safety Summit and Paris AI Action Summit (co-chaired by India). Structured around seven ‘Chakras,’ namely Human Capital, Inclusion, Safe & Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation & Efficiency, Democratizing AI Resources, and AI for Economic/Social Good. By 2026, the structural integration of AI into the Indian school system will reach maturity. Following the initial steps taken by the CBSE in 2020 to offer AI as a subject, the 2025-26 academic session marked the beginning of robotics and AI into the curriculum. This shift is supported by the #AIforAll initiative, which seeks to democratise technology across various socioeconomic strata.
Beyond curriculum updates, AI is being used to innovate educational infrastructure. National data systems such as Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+) and Student Database Management System (SDMS) are now optimised through AI, providing real-time data for planning and resource allocation. Most importantly, implementation of AI-based early warning systems, initiated by organisations like UNICEF India, is helping schools predict and prevent student dropouts, particularly at the secondary level where completion remains a challenge.
Classroom Innovations: Adaptive and Multilingual Learning
The most tangible impact of AI in 2026 will be seen in the rise of adaptive learning. AI platforms now act as force multipliers, analysing individual student performance to tailor experiences, adjusting difficulty levels so that students can progress at their own pace.
Furthermore, AI is dismantling the linguistic barriers that have historically hindered education in India’s diverse regions. Government platforms like DIKSHA and SWAYAM use AI to deliver multilingual content, while voice-based models in regional languages are becoming a commonplace. This ensures that a student’s mother tongue acts as a bridge to knowledge rather than a barrier.
For children with disabilities (CWD), AI is a powerful equaliser. Assistive technologies, such as speech-to-text and the Auticare platform use virtual reality (VR) to support learners with autism.
Ethical Responsibility and the Digital Reality
Despite optimism, this transition to an AI-driven system in 2026 will have significant barriers. The digital divide remains a stark reality, with rural populations struggling against unreliable power and high data costs. Ethical concerns are also at the forefront. Stakeholders are wary of AI biases that could lead to discrimination, as well as the risks of cyber fraud and internet addiction. The 2025 theme of the International Day of Education, “AI and Human Agency,” serves as a reminder that innovation must be paired with transparency and ethical responsibility. By 2026, AI is most likely to become an essential thread in the fabric of Indian education, offering a path toward a more equitable and efficient system. The synergy between technology and human agency hopefully will turn education from a privilege for the few into an accessible experience for every child.
Conclusion
All-in-all think of AI in education as a high-tech GPS system for a student’s journey. While the teacher remains the driver who understands the destination and the emotional needs of the passengers, the AI provides the real-time traffic updates and alternate routes, ensuring that no student gets lost regardless of the terrain they are crossing.
However, we must also recognize that this sophisticated high-speed train is currently attempting to run on dilapidated, narrow-gauge tracks. Even if the train itself is world-class, it cannot reach its full speed if the tracks are broken or missing in rural areas. Only by fixing the tracks will we be able to harness the power of the engine.
(The author is a certified AI trainer and Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at University of Jammu)
“Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way I manage sales operations and customer communication in my role as a team leader at Aditya Birla Hindalco. For sales management, AI helps me with demand forecasting, pricing optimization, customer segmentation, and lead scoring. I use AI-powered CRM systems that analyze customer behavior patterns and purchase history to identify potential opportunities and predict client needs before they even reach out. This allows my team to be proactive rather than reactive in our approach. AI enhances customer communication in the metals industry through chatbots for routine queries, sentiment analysis, personalized responses, and real-time translation, freeing teams for complex negotiations. For team performance, it is helping in delivering sales dashboards, trend analysis, and competitive intelligence to optimize resources and decisions. These tools boost leadership effectiveness, satisfaction, and outcomes in competitive markets.”
Geetanjali Gupta
Hindalco, Jammu
As a brand manager and journalism student, AI has become part of my daily routine. Every morning, I use AI tools to track brand sentiment, analyze client data, and spot market trends. I’ve started using AR and VR for client presentations-it’s revolutionary how immersive technology brings brand concepts to life. For journalism, AI helps me gather information quickly, verify facts, and identify patterns in complex stories. It saves hours of manual work and makes my output more data-driven. However, we’re only using basic AI models-we need more advanced systems for efficiency. Critically, AI lacks adequate support for physically challenged individuals. Moving forward, we must prioritize inclusivity in AI development.
Neha Sisodia
Brand Manager (Unified Studio Architect) and Journalism and Media Studies Student at JU
As a store manager, AI helps in optimizing inventory with demand prediction, reorder alerts, and stock monitoring to avoid shortages or overstock.
I use it to analyze customer preferences for personalized promotions and loyalty automation, boosting repeat sales. Sales dashboards reveal peak hours, profits, and trends for smarter pricing and staffing. Daily ops like billing and scheduling automate, reducing errors. This data-driven focus enhances service and growth.
Manav Gupta
Businessman, Jammu
As a technology professional in media, I see AI transforming both newsrooms and technology education at remarkable speed. In newsrooms, AI is used for fact-verification, content optimization, automated transcription, plagiarism detection, and analytics. For students learning technology, AI assists with programming, debugging, algorithm optimization, and software development. However, an AI divide exists: urban students access advanced AI tools and high-speed internet while rural students face connectivity challenges and limited exposure to these technologies. The bigger issue is that AI evolves faster than traditional curriculum. Students need hands-on practice with latest tools like Copilot, Cursor, Claude for coding etc and not just theoretical knowledge. Bridging the AI divide requires better infrastructure, affordable access, and AI literacy programs focused on experimentation and continuous learning.
Rahul Dogra
Software Engineer, Jammu
AI is transforming Ayurveda healthcare by strengthening personalization, precision, and reach. By analyzing Prakriti, lifestyle, genomics, and clinical data, AI helps in designing customized diet, lifestyle, and treatment protocols. It supports early disease prediction, outcome tracking, and evidence generation for classical formulations.
AI-enabled tools assist in Panchakarma planning, patient follow-up, and tele-Ayurveda, making care accessible beyond geography. For hospitals and clinics, AI improves documentation, research, quality control and regulatory compliance when guided by classical wisdom and ethicality.
Vaidya Naveen Sharma
BAMS, senior Ayurveda physician, Udhampur, Jammu
Being a literature student, I see AI is reshaping the way we read, study, and preserve texts across Sanskrit and global literary traditions.
In my academic journey, AI tools assist in digitizing ancient Sanskrit manuscripts, improving transliteration, and enabling more accurate translations, making classical knowledge accessible to modern readers. AI also supports thematic analysis, stylistic comparison, and faster literary research through digital archives. While technology enhances efficiency and when used ethically, AI becomes a scholarly companion-helping literature students bridge timeless wisdom with contemporary thought and critical understanding.
Mohit Sharma
Post Graduate Student, Katra
Follow our WhatsApp channel
