Govt Rolls Out 15,000 AI Scholarships to Power India’s Creative Talent

In a major push to build future-ready skills, the government has launched a national AI skilling initiative offering 15,000 scholarships for individuals in the creative sector, including media, entertainment, animation, gaming, and digital storytelling.

Announced in New Delhi, the programme is being spearheaded by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies. It has been developed in partnership with Google and YouTube, and enrolment is now open for interested candidates.

The initiative follows a structured two-phase learning model. The first phase focuses on building foundational AI knowledge through online training. Participants will receive access to Google Career Certificates and Google Cloud’s Generative AI learning paths. This stage includes around 33 hours of coursework covering generative AI basics, prompting techniques, and responsible AI practices.

Learners who complete the foundation stage will move to a hybrid specialisation phase, designed to emphasise practical, real-world applications. This includes project-based learning in storytelling, creative production, and hands-on use of advanced AI tools.

The curriculum, co-developed by IICT and YouTube, also integrates platform-specific best practices to help creators improve content reach and audience engagement. Through guided modules, participants will gain exposure to industry tools and workflows.

According to officials, the programme aims to combine technical expertise with creative application, helping build a skilled workforce capable of driving innovation in India’s rapidly evolving digital and media ecosystem.

CEO of IICT, Dr. Vishwas Deoskar, noted that the initiative addresses a growing national need by preparing creative professionals for practical AI use across content creation, production, and distribution.

With inputs from IANS