Dell Technologies has launched a national skilling programme that aims to train 23,000 youth for roles in artificial intelligence, cloud computing and electronics manufacturing.
Called uDaan: Empowering India’s Future Workforce, the programme will be implemented through a consortium involving FITT-IIT Delhi, Learning Links Foundation and Generation India Foundation. It will cover 190 government and aided institutions across five technology corridors: Delhi NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune.
The programme will include 100 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and 90 higher education institutions (HEIs).
FITT-IIT Delhi will design and certify four curricula covering AI application development, cloud development, assembly line operations and field technician roles. According to Dell, the curricula have been co-validated by more than 40 employers across technology, electronics manufacturing, global capability centres and cloud companies.
Learning Links Foundation will lead higher education delivery and institutional onboarding, while Generation India Foundation will oversee ITI implementation and employment linkages.
A key component of uDaan will be connecting training with employment, apprenticeships and entrepreneurship. The programme will track employment and retention at three, six, 12 and 24 months after placement, rather than measuring only course completion.
For learners who do not move directly into employment, the programme will provide apprenticeship pathways through the government’s National Apprenticeship Training Scheme (NATS) and National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) portals.
“Skilling is a critical enabler of AI adoption, workforce readiness and long-term innovation and economic viability,” said Manish Gupta, president and managing director, Dell Technologies India.
Entrepreneurship and mentoring
The programme will also include entrepreneurship support through FITT-IIT Delhi’s innovation ecosystem, including physical bootcamps and technical mentoring.
Dell said it aims to support 25 deep-tech startups among HEI learners and 10 micro-enterprises among ITI learners in the first year. Participants will also be connected with accelerator networks and potential sources of capital.
More than 2,000 hours of Dell employee mentoring are planned across the five technology corridors. The mentoring will cover career guidance, AI awareness and interview preparation.
The programme is aligned with initiatives including Skill India 2.0, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, Make in India and Digital India. Dell said it will work with state Directorate of Vocational Education and Training (DVET) and Directorate of Technical Education (DTE) officials from the first year, with the aim of documenting the model for potential adoption by state governments and other organisations.
The company said uDaan builds on its earlier work in digital literacy and innovation among school students. Dell said its education initiatives over the past decade have reached more than 50 million beneficiaries.
The company also said its Solar Community Hubs have reached 2.67 million beneficiaries across 18 districts and 14 states since FY23. In June 2026, Dell announced five additional hubs across 50 institutions.
