Opening Day of Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave 2026
12 February 2026 | Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi
The Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave 2026 commenced on 12th February 2026 at the prestigious Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, marking a significant milestone in India’s journey toward integrating Artificial Intelligence into the education ecosystem. Organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and led by the IIT Madras Bodhan AI Foundation (Centre of Excellence in AI for Education), the conclave brought together policymakers, education leaders, researchers, innovators, startups, and global technology partners.
A Vision for AI-Driven Educational Transformation
The inaugural session set the tone for a transformative national dialogue on AI in education. The event was graced by Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, along with State Education Ministers, Education Secretaries from both School and Higher Education departments, senior bureaucrats, academic leaders, and industry experts.
In his keynote address, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan emphasized that India’s AI framework must be:
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Inclusive by design
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Interoperable by architecture
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Sovereign by capability
He highlighted that AI should not merely remain a technological innovation but must become a democratizing force in classrooms, empowering teachers, enhancing student learning outcomes, and bridging equity gaps. He stressed the importance of developing India-centric AI solutions aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, ensuring ethical deployment, multilingual accessibility, and measurable learning impact.
Agenda Themes Across Two Days
Though the full official agenda details are on the Bodhan portal, the event’s structure included a blend of plenary sessions, thematic technical sessions, panel discussions, keynote addresses, and an extensive exhibition of AI innovations:
Day 1 — Opening & Innovation Showcases (Feb 12, 2026)
1️⃣ Inaugural Session & Vision Setting
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The conclave was formally inaugurated by Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, along with ministers and top officials from both School and Higher Education departments.
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Pradhan stressed that “AI must be inclusive by design, interoperable by architecture, and sovereign by capability,” and highlighted the necessity of embedding AI into education for teacher empowerment and student learning.
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The Bodhan AI Centre of Excellence and the Bharat EduAI Stack — a foundational architecture for AI in education — were launched to support interoperable solutions and national-scale deployment.
2️⃣ Flagship Exhibition & Innovation Exploration
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Over 120 exhibits and demonstration stalls showcased deployed, outcome-driven AI solutions across priority verticals:
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AI for School Education (adaptive learning, diagnostics, personalised learning tools)
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AI for Higher Education (research and advanced learning tools)
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AI for Skilling & Workforce Readiness
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AI Research & Deep Technology Innovations
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Startups, research groups and edtech innovators demonstrated how AI tools are already improving measurable learning outcomes, teacher support, assessment, and accessible content creation.
3️⃣ Technical Session – School Education & Classroom Innovations
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Focused on scalable AI solutions tailored to K-12 education — such as adaptive curricula, real-time analytics, multilingual supports and classroom intelligence platforms.
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Leaders from education tech organisations and practitioners shared insights on integrating AI into everyday teaching and learning processes.
4️⃣ Networking & Institutional Engagements
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Delegates, including the Uttarakhand team led by Ravinath Raman, IAS, engaged with innovators and solution providers to explore collaboration and implementation pathways. These interactions included discussions on partnerships and pilots with global tech leaders and Bengaluru/Chennai tech communities.
Ravinath Raman detailed a that comprehensive tour of exhibits helped identify priority tools for foundational literacy & numeracy (FLN), teacher capacity building and classroom tech. This also led to plans for future meetings with Google for Education leaders and exploration of the TARA app from IIT Bombay for potential integration into the FLN-NIPUN mission in Uttarakhand schools.
For day one AI start ups AI and the conclave concluded with a reaffirmation of AI’s role as a strategic lever for educational transformation in India — emphasising partnership, ethical innovation, measurable impact and scalable adoption.
Highlights from the Exhibition & Innovations
The exhibition on formed a core pillar of the conclave, allowing delegates like the Uttarakhand team to:
- Interact directly with AI developers and implementers across sectors in education.
- Assess AI tools for foundational literacy, adaptive learning, multilingual support, teacher analytics, content generation and student assessment.
- Identify tools with proven, scaled deployments that go beyond pilot stages.
- Explore practical strategies for integration into state systems, including teacher training modules and classroom readiness frameworks.
This comprehensive exhibition provided a landscape map of India’s leading AI in education solutions — from startups to research prototypes — enabling policymakers and education leaders to prioritise tools that align with learner diversity, local language needs and digital equity.
For Uttarakhand
The conclave enabled the Uttarakhand delegation to:
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Understand national AI trends and how state systems can adopt responsible, evidence-based AI tools.
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Develop future action plans for instructional technology, teacher CPD (Continuous Professional Development), and classroom AI integration.
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Explore concrete collaborations with global and national partners (e.g., Google for Education, IIT Bombay/TARA app) to bolster state education initiatives.
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Commit to strategic follow-ups addressing need-based and scalable solutions for both foundational and advanced learning levels.
Uttarakhand Delegation at the Conclave
Representing the Uttarakhand School Education Department, a distinguished team participated fully in the conclave agenda:
- Ravinath Raman, IAS – Secretary, School Education Uttarakhand
- Bandana Garbyal – Academic Director
- Pallavi Nain – Deputy Director, Samagra Shiksha
- Navin Negi – State Coordinator Samgra Shiksha
- Ramesh Badoni & Saurabh Joshi – IT Faculty and IT tech team
Their participation underscored Uttarakhand’s proactive approach to AI readiness in education.
Official References & Conclave Links
For readers who wish to explore more about the Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave 2026, the following official sources may be visited:
Official Conclave Website (Agenda & Sessions)
https://bodhan-ai-conclave-2026.zohobackstage.in/AI#/agenda?day=1&lang=enOpening Session – Address by Union Education Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NEXQ0d9qRgExtended Address & Key Policy Announcements (AI in Education Vision)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYi1QZeoGhMMinistry of Education – Press Information Bureau Release (Bodhan AI Conclave 2026)
https://www.pib.gov.inIIT Madras – Bodhan AI Foundation (Centre of Excellence in AI for Education)
https://bodhanai.org
