In a landmark move to strengthen India’s AI-driven future, Salesforce, a global firm in CRM and AI innovation, has joined hands with SmartBridge to launch the “AI Bharat Gen AI Skills Catalyst”, a national skilling initiative. The programme aims to empower 1,00,000 learners across India with agentic AI capabilities. The collaboration, endorsed by the India AI Mission, marks a pivotal moment in bridging the nation’s AI skills gap by combining industry expertise, academic reach, and government vision.
The announcement was made at a press conference held in New Delhi in the presence of Arundhati Bhattacharya, president & CEO, Salesforce South Asia; Amarendar Katkam, founder & CEO, SmartBridge and Kavita Bhatia, representing the India AI Mission.
The programme focuses on building future-ready AI talent by bridging the gap between academia and industry, with a strong emphasis on learners from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. Leveraging Trailhead, Salesforce’s free online learning platform, the initiative will offer a blended model of live expert sessions and self-paced learning. Learners will gain hands-on experience, earn digital credentials, and progress through structured ranks — Agentblazer Champion, Innovator, and Legend — validating their proficiency in AI-driven business applications.
The initiative also includes faculty-enablement programmes, mentorship support, and state-level outreach to ensure wider participation. It will initially focus on students in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh, with plans for a broader national rollout.
Speaking at the press conference, Bhattacharya highlighted that trust, ethics, and innovation remain central to Salesforce’s mission as it advances responsible AI adoption. She noted that India is uniquely positioned to lead the global AI transformation, stating: “India, with its immense talent pool, is not just participating in the global AI transformation—it is poised to lead it. Unlocking this unprecedented AI opportunity requires equipping our people with future-ready AI skills to innovate and build the future.”
Bhattacharya explained how Agentic AI—the next evolution beyond generative AI—enables digital agents to trigger workflows independently, helping enterprises automate routine tasks while allowing humans to focus on creativity, relationships and impact. She emphasised that Salesforce’s Agentforce, an enterprise-grade system for agentic AI built on its unified platform, is designed to help companies transition into Agentic Enterprises.
The collaboration aligns closely with IndiaAI Mission’s goal of democratising AI learning and creating equitable opportunities across regions. Kavita Bhatia, group coordinator (AI & Emerging Technologies Division, MeitY) and COO, IndiaAI, said, “Through the YuvaAI programme under the IndiaAI Mission, we aim to unlock their potential with the right skills and opportunities. We welcome partners such as Salesforce and SmartBridge in shaping this transformative journey.”
Through this collaboration, Salesforce and SmartBridge aim to integrate emerging technology skills into academic systems and create stronger linkages between education and employability.
SmartBridge will leverage its network of over 3,000 universities, which have collectively trained 1.5 million students and 35,000 educators in emerging technologies since 2015. Salesforce, with its Trailblazer Ecosystem of 3.9 million learners in India, will provide its global AI expertise, learning resources, and certification pathways to bridge the talent gap.
Amarendar Katkam, founder and CEO, SmartBridge, commented, “At SmartBridge, our mission has always been to bridge the gap between academia and industry by making emerging technology skills accessible to all. Partnering with Salesforce and IndiaAI allows us to scale this vision nationwide – empowering students, educators, and professionals with the practical, job-ready AI skills needed to thrive in the future workforce.”
More than 3,000 colleges across India already offer Salesforce courses as credit electives, and the company continues to collaborate with state governments to embed Salesforce training into technical curricula.
Aligned with Salesforce’s global values of trust, innovation, equality, and sustainability, the initiative emphasises the development of responsible and ethical AI talent. Salesforce has operated an Office for the Humane and Ethical Use of Technology since 2014, ensuring every product and programme adheres to the highest standards of fairness and data integrity.
The programme’s focus on agentic AI—technology capable of acting autonomously within human-defined parameters—aims to prepare learners for the next wave of AI-driven transformation across industries. Endorsed by the India AI Mission, the initiative aligns with the government’s objective of building inclusive, large-scale AI capability. The Mission, approved in 2024, focuses on seven pillars including compute infrastructure, data access, and AI-led human capital.
Under this framework, 570 AI Data Labs are planned across Tier II and Tier III cities to democratise access to AI education. Thirty labs are already operational with over 1,200 students enrolled, offering practical learning modules in data curation and annotation.
The Salesforce–SmartBridge partnership is expected to accelerate the Mission’s goals by bringing industry-led AI education to diverse learner segments and geographies.
