Ministry of Education Launches Bodhan AI Centre of Excellence to Drive AI in Education Across India

New Delhi 

The Ministry of Education successfully concluded the Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave 2026 on February 13 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. Organised as a pre-summit event ahead of the India AI Impact Summit, the two-day national gathering brought together policymakers, educators, researchers, ed-tech startups, and technology leaders to accelerate AI integration in Indian education under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired key sessions and launched the Bodhan AI Centre of Excellence in collaboration with IIT Madras. The conclave focused on four priority verticals: AI for School Education, Higher Education, Skilling & Workforce Readiness, and AI Research & Deep Technology. Over 3,100 registrations, including 2,000 students and 600+ delegates, and nearly 120 exhibitors showcased AI-powered tools for personalised learning, teacher support, multilingual education, and foundational literacy.

A major highlight was the roundtable with founders of 10 leading AI-edtech startups. Participating startups included Arivihan, Fermi AI, Khare.AI, Seekho, SpeakX, SuperKalam, SuperNova, Vedantu , ConveGenius, and Virohan. 

The event also advanced the development of the Bharat EduAI Stack — an open, interoperable digital public infrastructure (DPI) for building and scaling sovereign AI solutions in education.

CBSE Digital Evaluation Reforms for Class 12 Board Exams 2026

In a parallel landmark reform, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) announced the full rollout of On-Screen Marking (OSM) for Class 12 board examinations starting 2026. Controller of Examinations Dr Sanyam Bhardwaj confirmed that answer sheets will be scanned and evaluated digitally on a secure platform, eliminating physical handling of scripts.

Key benefits of the new system include:

• Elimination of totalling errors
• Faster result processing
• Greater transparency and wider examiner participation (including teachers from all affiliated schools globally)
• Environmentally sustainable digital process

Post-result mark verification will be discontinued for Class 12 from 2026. Class 10 answer books will continue with physical evaluation in 2026. The move is expected to handle over 10.4 crore answer books efficiently for nearly 18.57 lakh Class 12 students appearing in 120 subjects.

These developments signal a strong push towards technology-driven, transparent, and inclusive education. The Bharat Bodhan AI Conclave 2026 and CBSE’s OSM reforms together strengthen India’s vision of Viksit Bharat through responsible AI adoption and modernised assessment systems.

Senior officials and key stakeholders participating in the Roundtable included Shri Sanjay Kumar, Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy; Dr Vineet Joshi, Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Shri Rangan Bannerjee, Director, IIT Delhi; Prof V Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras; Shri Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investments and M&A for India and South East Asia at Prosus; Heads of the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), IT Skill Sector Council, National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), and National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET); Commissioner of Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS); Chairman of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE); Commissioner of Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS); Chairman of the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS); along with other distinguished stakeholders and senior officers from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.