The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with Intel India, organised a National Leadership Dialogue on “Preparing the Future Workforce for the Agentic AI Era” at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi.
The dialogue brought together senior representatives from the government, foreign embassies, academia, industry and the skilling ecosystem to discuss the rapidly evolving Artificial Intelligence landscape and its impact on the future of work, education and workforce development in India.
The event was attended by CBFC Chairperson Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati as the Chief Guest, NIELIT Director General Dr. M. M. Tripathi, IndiaAI Mission COO and MeitY Joint Secretary Shri Sudeep Shrivastava, Intel Head and Global Director Mr. Anshul Sonak, along with other senior dignitaries.
The discussions focused on the opportunities and challenges emerging from Agentic AI and the need to strengthen India’s workforce readiness for an increasingly AI-driven economy. Key areas included emerging skill requirements, industry-aligned curricula, experiential learning, faculty readiness, AI-enabled learning environments and stronger Government–academia–industry collaboration.
As Artificial Intelligence evolves from predictive and generative systems towards Agentic AI systems capable of reasoning, planning and executing complex tasks under human oversight, the skills required across industries are also changing. The dialogue stressed the importance of equipping students, educators and professionals with technical expertise, adaptability and human-centric skills to effectively work alongside advanced AI systems.
Speaking at the event, Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati underlined the importance of skills, employability and continuous learning as technology transforms the nature of work. He also emphasised the need for long-term skilling pathways combining foundational and emerging technology skills with practical exposure, industry-relevant case studies and real-world datasets.
Dr. M. M. Tripathi said NIELIT is committed to equipping learners and educators with the capabilities required for the next phase of technological transformation. He highlighted that the collaboration with Intel India combines NIELIT’s nationwide skilling reach with Intel’s technology expertise and industry perspective.
Shri Sudeep Shrivastava highlighted the government’s vision of building a strong and inclusive AI ecosystem and stressed the importance of developing a robust AI talent pipeline. He also emphasised industry-led training, AI-focused educational programmes, AI Data Labs and stronger industry-academia partnerships.
A key highlight of the event was the launch of the NIELIT–Intel India Agentic AI Skilling Initiative, aimed at expanding access to industry-aligned learning opportunities and supporting the development of a future-ready AI talent ecosystem in India.
The initiative introduces two programmes—“Agentic AI for Everyone” and “Engineering Agentic AI Systems.”
The first programme will introduce learners to workflow automation, AI agents and multi-agent systems, with hands-on exposure to designing and governing AI-powered workflows using no-code platforms. The second programme will focus on designing, building and deploying AI-powered agentic systems, covering areas such as agent architecture, tool integration, orchestration, memory and deployment.
The National Leadership Dialogue and the new skilling initiative mark a significant step towards strengthening collaboration between government, academia and industry. Through the partnership, NIELIT and Intel India aim to expand access to practical, industry-aligned and future-ready Agentic AI learning opportunities across the country, contributing to India’s growing AI talent pool and digital economy.
