Finance
When a phone can write a job application, explain a textbook in Hindi, help a shopkeeper calculate GST, or tell a farmer today’s crop price in real time, the technology doing all of that is artificial intelligence. Most of the tools that make this possible are free. The only thing most Indians have lacked is someone to show them how. On 15 March 2026, a lab opened in South Delhi with the specific purpose of closing that gap.
The Swami Pranavananda AI & Robotics Lab was inaugurated at Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Sriniwaspuri, New Delhi by Smt. Nidhi Khare IAS, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India. Ms. Nisha Damor, IAS, Addl. Collector, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Capt. (Dr.) Indu Boken Kasana, District Education Officer, Gurugram, Haryana, and Swamy Atmajnanananda Ji Maharaj, Secretary Delhi, Bharat Sevashram Sangha, were guests of honour.
The lab is a project of the Bharat Tech-Shakti Mission, spearheaded by three volunteers: Basab Dasgupta, Dhirender Saini, and Aditya Sen. All three are working professionals who conceived, planned, and built this lab entirely in their personal time, drawing no salary or benefit from the Mission. For them, this is deliberate, selfless service — a choice to give back to the community precisely because their careers have given them skills that most people around them never had access to. The Mission’s tagline, Srijan Se Shakti, meaning strength through creation, frames their conviction: that hands-on practice with AI tools is what separates a passive consumer of technology from someone who can build with it.
The lab’s curriculum is built around exactly the skills that matter most right now. Learners will work with text generation and image creation tools, build voice-controlled applications, run computer vision experiments, and use platforms like Google Teachable Machine to understand how machines learn from data. The advanced track goes further: model training, IoT-enabled smart device control using Raspberry Pi and Arduino, and building real applications through APIs. Crucially, the lab also teaches what it calls “vibe coding” — describing what you want in plain language, and having AI write the code for you. This single skill has the potential to open software creation to people who never studied programming.
Responsible use of AI is woven into every track. Learners are taught not just what AI can do, but when not to trust it, how to check its outputs, and what ethical responsibilities come with using tools that can generate text, images, and decisions at scale.
The physical infrastructure matches the ambition. Five high-performance desktop workstations, a 65-inch EDLA-certified interactive smart board, Raspberry Pi computers, a complete Arduino sensor kit, an Alexa Echo Dot connected to IoT-enabled smart devices, UPS support, and fibre broadband with WiFi coverage make this a fully networked, production-grade learning environment.
The lab admits anyone. No entrance test, no age limit, no prior computer knowledge required. Three tracks serve three audiences: Beginner, for those starting from zero; Intermediate, for those with some computer familiarity who want deeper exposure to data analysis and hardware; and Advanced, for those with a programming background who want to work on model behaviour, IoT, and API-based applications. A Class 5 student and a 55-year-old first-time computer user can both walk in on the same day and find a starting point.
Demo classes are scheduled to begin the week of 21 March 2026. For enrolment and further details, contact the lab directly located at Swami Pranavananda Marg, Sriniwaspuri, New Delhi.
Remarks from the Inauguration
“AI is no longer a tool only for the technologist. It is fast becoming as fundamental as reading and writing. An initiative that teaches a first-generation learner to use these tools is not just building a skill — it is building a future.”
– Smt. Nidhi Khare IAS, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India
“Swami Pranavananda taught us that true seva is giving people the power to stand on their own feet. Every technology has transformed the world in its time. Today that technology is AI. This lab carries forward the Sangha’s founding purpose in the language of our era.”
– Swamy Atmajnanananda Ji Maharaj, Secretary Delhi, Bharat Sevashram Sangha
“Artificial intelligence must not become another wall that separates the privileged from the rest. Initiatives like this lab are about tearing that wall down — one learner at a time. When a girl from a modest household walks into this lab and builds something with AI, she is not just learning a skill — she is rewriting what is possible for herself and every woman who follows her.”
– Ms. Nisha Damor, IAS, Addl. Collector, Indore, Madhya Pradesh
“Students today are growing up in a world where AI will decide who gets a job interview and who does not. A school student who understands how these tools work has a head start that no textbook can give them. Initiatives like this should exist in every district of India.”
– Capt. (Dr.) Indu Boken Kasana, District Education Officer, Gurugram, Haryana
