'Young people won't just participate in the AI era, they will lead it': Salesforce's Arundhati Bhattacharya

Salesforce has announced its collaboration with SmartBridge, a talent accelerator and edtech organisation, to support the 'YuvaAI Bharat: GenAI Skill Catalyst' program, a nationwide AI skilling initiative aimed at equipping learners across India with future-ready AI skills. The program will target learners from both academia and industry, leveraging Trailhead, Salesforce's free online learning platform, to deliver high-quality AI training to one lakh learners by the end of 2026.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch event, Arundhati Bhattacharya, President and CEO at Salesforce South Asia, underscored the importance of introducing AI education early in the academic journey. "I genuinely believe that if we want to prepare the country for an AI-led future, we must begin early, at the school level. Children today are far more curious and comfortable with technology than many of us were at that age. The idea is not just to teach them how to use technology, but to help them understand how it works and how it can be applied responsibly," she told Business Today.

Bhattacharya explained that Salesforce's long-standing commitment to education and workforce development in India continues through this initiative. "At Salesforce, we are building on our long-standing commitment in India through our efforts to advance access to education and expand career opportunities for youth. Our partnership with SmartBridge marks a significant move toward making AI education more inclusive. Through Trailhead, Salesforce's free online learning platform, the YuvaAI Bharat program gives learners hands-on experience through a mix of live expert sessions and self-paced modules, delivering scalable and inclusive AI training," she added.

She emphasised that adaptability and continuous learning would be crucial skills in the coming years. "The ability to continuously learn, reskill and adapt will define success in the years to come. If we can build that mindset early on, I have no doubt that India’s young people will not just participate in the AI era, they will lead it," Bhattacharya also said.

From the industry partner's perspective, Amarendar Katkam, Founder and CEO of SmartBridge, explained that the collaboration primarily focuses on bridging the current talent gap in the AI ecosystem. "Because it is more of an industry-specific and immediate injection into the talent ecosystem. So this is an immediate gap filler. That's why it is brought into the higher education ecosystem," Katkam said.

He added that while the current focus is on higher education, similar initiatives are being rolled out in school systems through other national programs. "Definitely, there are a lot of initiatives going on outside which are also focused on secondary education. I think they have created certain labs and other things to support even the school education system," he said.

When asked about expanding AI education to the secondary or primary level, Katkam noted that some groundwork is already underway in schools. "Of course, I think the school education system is already planning certain subjects into the curriculum. But it all depends upon how exactly the students are using this technology. It depends on the obligation, on how you use it. But the most important thing is awareness, the awareness people created in the student on how exactly they use this technology," he explained.

Katkam stressed the need for balance between enthusiasm and responsibility as AI becomes more integrated into education. "There will be a lot of guidelines, rules, and regulations which will be coming from both the regulatory side as well as the institutional level side. But it's ultimately the end user how is it lies," he said.

On timelines for expanding such training, Katkam clarified that SmartBridge's immediate focus remains on higher education, while curriculum-level integration is being handled by education boards.

He added that while the introduction of AI-related content is progressing, practical implementation will take time. "Everybody is excited to use AI. Once they start using it, there will definitely be issues in terms of centralisation. But over a period of time, it will reach saturation where they will be put under certain frameworks so that they will utilise the benefits of this technology," Katkam said.

He also highlighted SmartBridge's plans to expand AI skilling beyond generic training. "The best part of Salesforce is its strong focus on agentic capabilities, particularly in employment, which helps fill a significant gap in the market. There is a growing demand for such initiatives. Similarly, new programmes are emerging in areas such as AI in healthcare, education and cybersecurity. SmartBridge is also planning to launch its own programmes in these fields," Katkam added.

Kavita Bhatia, Group Coordinator (AI & Emerging Technologies Division, MeitY) and COO, IndiaAI, also lauded the Salesforce-SmartBridge initiative and its alignment with the Centre's IndiaAI Mission. "India's youth are the driving force of our AI future. Through the YuvaAI program under the IndiaAI Mission, we aim to unlock their potential with the right skills and opportunities. 'YuvaAI Bharat: GenAI Skill Catalyst' reflects this spirit -- bringing together government, academia and industry to inspire and train the next generation of AI innovators," Bhatia said.