Future Skills Hub To Empower Youth, Women, Farmers, SHGs

Kakinada: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the artificial intelligence (AI) powered Skill Hub at Pydamynavanilanka village in Narasapuram mandal of West Godavari district would empower youth, women, farmers, self-help groups and locals.

They would be provided with future-ready skills aligned with livelihood opportunities, she said.

Sitharaman, along with the Union minister of state for steel and heavy industries Bhupathiraju Sriinivasa Varma, finance minister Payyavula Kesav, the water resources minister Nimmala Ramanaidu, BJP state president PVN Madhav and others, inaugurated the skill hub at Pedamynavanilanka –her adopted village. It gets the support of Cyient Foundation.

Sitharaman said the centre has been established under the aegis of the Cyient Foundation with the objective of transforming it into a model AI-based rural skill and livelihood centre.

She said, “PMLanka is not a remote village now. It is recognized as a main centre for AI-powered skill training.”

This initiative, she said, is designed to strengthen India’s AI-powered rural transformation journey, support national priorities such as Digital India, Skill India, and Viksit Bharat 2047. “It operates on the premise of how government infrastructure can be leveraged through CSR partnerships to create scalable, inclusive development models.”

She said that the centre features AI-powered systems and smart classrooms, a 40-system computer lab, drone training equipment, high-speed connectivity, licensed and open-source AI tools, and a centralized learning management system enabling structured training delivery, real time tracking, and outcome measurement.

Through national skills qualifications framework-aligned and industry-relevant curricula, the hub offers three future-ready skill pathways like AI-enabled digital and IT literacy, AI-powered digital marketing and Aqua-Tech (drone operations).

Each track emphasizes hands-on learning through a 12 week training model, built on a 60 per cent practical and 40 per cent AI-assisted theoretical approach, she said and added that the participants in the training centre would be supported through certification and placement to ensure job readiness and sustainable livelihood outcomes.

Founder chairman of Cyient Ltd, BVR Mohan Reddy, said the AI-Future Skills Hub reflects their deep commitment to enabling rural communities to meaningfully participate in India’s digital and AI-driven growth trajectory. The foundation, he said, has digitized more than 120 government schools and made 35,000 students digital literacy.

Sitaraman inspected the construction works of the Anti-Erosion Wall at the village and hoped that the village should stand top in development. The village, she said, is not a remote village, but it has become a training centre for AI Technology.

The finance minister said the women in the village developed the area. “I have not adopted the village; rather, the people of the village have adopted me.”

Later, distributing computers to students at the ZP high school, Sitharaman said, “Education is the only way to develop a nation. India is gaining more recognition for its best education.”