Ahead of CEO Satya Nadella’s scheduled visit to India next month, Microsoft has released new information about its AI-skilling efforts. The tech titan highlighted fresh developments in its micro-degree concept, as well as preliminary placement results.

During his visit to India in January of this year, Nadella vowed to teach 10 million Indians in AI by 2030. In a new blog post today, the company announced that it has reached the halfway point, having trained 5.6 million people in just ten months.

According to Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, “India is at a watershed moment in its AI journey, and what distinguishes this moment is the nation’s resolve to make AI opportunity inclusive.” At Microsoft, we see skilling as the foundation for this transition.

“By combining India’s scale of talent with its strong digital base, and collaborating with the Government of India, MSDE, and DGT, we are integrating AI learning into vocational institutions and communities across the country. “This is more than a program; it is a movement to create a workforce that is prepared for the future,” he said.

Microsoft announced that it has partnered with the Directorate General of Training (DGT) of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) to provide a one-year micro-degree called “AI Programming Assistant” at 33 National Skill Training Institutes (NSTIs) in India. The corporation also noted that the project requires at least half of its participants to be female.

As an example, Microsoft used the NSTI Bengaluru model, which includes 1,600 hours of teaching in Python, Computer Vision, Natural Language Processing (NLP), and GenAI principles.

In a press release, Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, stated, “As AI reshapes the world of work, our skilling approach must evolve to match the pace of innovation and opportunity it brings.”

Microsoft said the relationship is helping establish a “talent pipeline” for a wide range of businesses, including manufacturing, logistics, IT-enabled services and healthcare.