Ashwini Vaishnaw Launches AI Skilling, Citizen Creator Platform
Ashwini Vaishnaw launches a national AI skilling programme for 15,000 creators and media professionals, alongside MyWAVES and enhanced DD Free Dish access to strengthen India’s digital and creative media ecosystem.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw has launched three initiatives aimed at strengthening India’s media, broadcasting and digital content ecosystem, including a national artificial intelligence (AI) skilling programme and a citizen creator platform.
The initiatives, launched on March 23, comprise the National AI Skilling Initiative in partnership with Google and YouTube, the MyWAVES citizen creator platform on WAVES OTT, and measures to improve access to DD Free Dish services. The government said the initiatives are intended to support the creative economy, expand access to technology and build an AI-skilled workforce for the media and entertainment sector.
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Under the National AI Skilling Initiative, around 15,000 creators and media professionals will receive free training. The programme is being implemented through the Indian Institute of Creative Technologies (IICT), with support from Google and YouTube. It focuses on strengthening AI capabilities across areas including animation, visual effects, gaming, comics (AVGC) and media technology.
The training will be delivered in two phases. The first phase, running from March 23 to June 30, focuses on foundational AI learning through Google Career Certificates and Google Cloud generative AI learning paths. Courses include AI Essentials, Prompting Essentials, Introduction to Generative AI and Generative AI Leader Path.
The second phase, scheduled from July to December 2026, will provide advanced, hands-on and project-based training for the creative sector. It will cover storytelling, YouTube best practices and AI tools including Gemini, Nano Banana, Veo and Vertex AI.
Vaishnaw also launched MyWAVES, a feature within the WAVES OTT platform that allows citizens to create, upload and share content. The platform is designed to support user-generated content and participation in initiatives such as the Create in India Challenge.
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The third initiative involves the rollout of an Advanced Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) and in-built satellite tuners in television sets to improve access to DD Free Dish without requiring separate set-top boxes.
The initiatives form part of the government’s broader focus on developing the creative and digital media ecosystem while expanding access to AI skills, content creation and public broadcasting services.
