Pradhan chairs roundtable with edtech startups
New Delhi: Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday chaired a high-level roundtable with founders of 10 new-age Indian edtech startups at IIT Delhi, signalling the Centre’s intent to place Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the heart of the next phase of education reform.
The deliberations come ahead of the two-day Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave to be held on February 12–13 at Bharat Mandapam, where policymakers, researchers and industry leaders will chart a roadmap for AI-led transformation of the education ecosystem.
The roundtable brought together policymakers, academic leaders and technology entrepreneurs to explore how AI can advance the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The interaction was positioned as a precursor to broader policy discussions at the forthcoming India AI Impact Summit.
Participating startups including Arivihan, Fermi AI, Khare.AI, Seekho, SpeakX, SuperKalam, SuperNova, Vedantu, ConveGenius and Virohan showcased AI-first solutions spanning K-12 learning, test preparation, upskilling, language learning and skill education, with particular emphasis on underserved regions.
Addressing the gathering, Pradhan described technology as a “powerful instrument of empowerment and inclusion” capable of bridging gaps in access and opportunity.
He underscored AI’s central role in realising the vision of Viksit Bharat @ 2047, noting that earlier phases of educational technology focused primarily on expanding access to
content.
The next phase, he said, must prioritise measurable improvements in learning outcomes through AI-enabled, personalised and adaptive models that are affordable and scalable.
Senior officials, including School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar and Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi, as well as heads of institutions such as IIT Delhi and IIT Madras, participated in the deliberations alongside representatives from NSDC, NASSCOM, CBSE, KVS and NIOS.
Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar and Minister of State Jayant Chaudhary were also present.
