Prof Bhaskar Chakravorti of The Fletcher School, Tufts University, Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary MSDE, Arunkumar Pillai, CEO NSDC, Yolynd Lobo of Google Cloud India, Rakesh Kaul of EY and Dr Neena Pahuja of NCVET contribute to policy discussion at India AI Impact Summit 2026
Mumbai, February 21, 2026: The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship convened a high level discussion on Human Centric AI during the India AI Impact Summit 2026, focusing on how India’s artificial intelligence growth can be built on strong talent pipelines and trust based digital systems.
The session, organised under the Expert Engagement Group discussions, brought together leaders from academia, government and industry to deliberate on workforce readiness, institutional preparedness and inclusive AI development.
Professor Bhaskar Chakravorti, Dean of Global Business at The Fletcher School, Tufts University, delivered the keynote address on Human Flourishing in the Age of AI. He emphasised that leadership in artificial intelligence will depend not only on technological capability but also on trust frameworks, digital public infrastructure and the ability to scale talent development across populations.
The panel discussion was moderated by Sidharth Madaan, Partner and Managing Director at BCG, and featured Yolynd Lobo, Director and Head of Global Affairs and Public Policy at Google Cloud India, Arunkumar Pillai, CEO of the National Skill Development Corporation, Rakesh Kaul, Technology Consulting Partner at EY, and Dr Neena Pahuja, Former Executive Member of the National Council for Vocational Education and Training.
Arunkumar Pillai stated that artificial intelligence is increasingly functioning as trainer, assessor and career guide within skilling ecosystems. Through AI awareness initiatives, the SOAR programme and AI enabled features within the Skill India Digital Hub, learners are receiving personalised pathways, real time labour market insights and outcome based assessments.
Dr Neena Pahuja outlined a three tier capability framework described as AI for All, AI for Many and AI for Few, aimed at building foundational literacy, intermediate skills and advanced specialisation. She noted that SOAR registrations have crossed two lakh learners and highlighted the rollout of nano credentials, stackable pathways and modular qualifications aligned with the National Credit Framework. She also referenced the integration of short duration AI modules in Industrial Training Institutes to improve productivity across traditional trades.
Rakesh Kaul observed that institutions must anticipate workforce transitions responsibly as artificial intelligence transforms industries. Yolynd Lobo highlighted the importance of expanding domestic compute capacity and building partnerships across sectors, ensuring inclusion from agriculture to creative industries.
The session concluded with a live demonstration by Sunil Kumar, Lead Engineer Machine Learning at Google, titled Scaling Creative with GCP GenMedia, illustrating how generative models can produce production ready assets and support immersive AI driven workflows.
Debashree Mukherjee, Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, attended the session and interacted with participants, underscoring the importance of aligning AI skilling initiatives with national priorities rooted in inclusivity and industry relevance. She also visited the Skill India Pavilion, engaging with exhibitors presenting digital learning tools and AI enabled training solutions.
The deliberations reflected a shared commitment among government, academia and industry stakeholders to ensure that India’s AI ecosystem remains inclusive, talent driven and globally competitive.
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