YellowDots Talent DPI opens up free learning and AI opportunities for young Indians

New Delhi | 7 October 2026:   A new initiative aimed at widening access to education, AI skills and career opportunities for young Indians has gone live. Called YellowDots, the Talent Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has moved from pilots in Ghaziabad and Visakhapatnam to an open rollout for users across the country.

The initiative was launched on Gandhi Jayanti by a consortium comprising mySATHI Foundation, Career Launcher, FERMI and IIT Kharagpur, with EkStep Foundation guiding the project. It brings three services together on a common digital platform, all of them available free of cost.

The launch follows the broader direction outlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day address on 15 August 2026, which called for wider access to free online coaching through Digital Public Infrastructure and AI skilling for one crore young Indians within a year.

What YellowDots offers: The first service is free preparation for competitive examinations, with structured coaching from Career Launcher available to students without a fee.

The second is a personal AI tutor. Developed by IIT Kharagpur in collaboration with FERMI AI through the National Digital Library of India, the service is designed to provide one-to-one support and adapt to a learner’s pace and level.

The third is an AI proficiency certificate designed and awarded by IIT Kharagpur. The certificate is intended to give students a credible, job-oriented credential in a field that is increasingly becoming relevant to employability.

Making access less dependent on location: The larger idea behind YellowDots is to use digital public infrastructure to make education, skills and opportunities easier to discover and access. The platform is intended to connect young people looking for opportunities with organisations and institutions providing them, irrespective of where a student lives or whom they happen to know.

“Coaching should never be the price of ambition. When preparation, a tutor and a credential are free and open to all, a student in Vizag or Ghaziabad starts from the same line as one in Delhi. That is what public infrastructure is for,” R. Subrahmanyam, Chairman, mySATHI Foundation and former Secretary, Higher Education, Government of India.

For mySATHI Foundation Chairman R. Subrahmanyam, the focus is therefore not just on providing another online service, but on making access to preparation and opportunity more equitable.

A wider Talent DPI is taking shape: YellowDots is being positioned as the first step towards a broader Talent DPI. The intention is to create open digital rails on which education, skills and employment-related services can be made more accessible and discoverable.

“Talent is still digitally dark in India when it comes to connecting opportunities with aspirations. We are delighted to partner with CL Educate and mySATHI Foundation in conceiving and shaping the Talent DPI Live and very happy to see it go LIVE as YellowDots as one of the BlueDots economy initiatives,” Gaurav Gupta, Chief Growth Officer, EkStep Foundation

The initiative is being taken forward with district administrations and local elected representatives, with plans to expand the rollout district by district.

AI skills and employability: The AI certificate is an important part of the initiative because AI skills are becoming increasingly relevant across jobs and industries. IIT Kharagpur has designed the certificate with an emphasis on both academic rigour and recognition by employers.

“AI proficiency is becoming a baseline for employability, much like literacy and numeracy. A certificate matters only if it is rigorous and if employers trust it. We have designed this one to meet both tests, and to be within reach of a student in any district,” Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, IIT Kharagpur

Building on three decades of coaching experience:  Career Launcher brings its experience in test preparation to the initiative. Satya Narayanan R, Founder and Chairman of CL Educate, said the larger opportunity was to make this experience available on open public infrastructure.

“Identity and payments changed what an ordinary Indian can do. Talent is the missing third leg. We have spent three decades in coaching. Putting that on open public rails, free, is the most useful thing we can do with it. These three services are the beginning; many more can be built on the same infrastructure, by anyone,” Satya Narayanan R, Founder & Chairman, CL Educate.

Open to schools, colleges and organisations: The services are available free to every citizen. Schools, colleges, universities, CSR programmes and non-profits working in education, skills and employment can use them for their students and beneficiaries.

The consortium brings together mySATHI Foundation, Career Launcher, IIT Kharagpur, Head Held High Foundation, the National Digital Library of India and a group of start-ups, with EkStep Foundation guiding and shaping the project.