Karnataka: RuralShores & Sathya Sai varsity launch AI skilling centre to connect village youth with global tech jobs

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh on Monday inaugurated the Bharat Ratna Sir M. Visvesvaraya Rural Artificial Intelligence Skill and Experience (RAISE) Centre at Sathya Sai Grama in Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur district. This launches an initiative to equip rural youth with AI skills and prepare them for global technology jobs without requiring them to migrate to cities.

Bengaluru-based rural digital operations company RuralShores set up the centre in partnership with Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence (SSSUHE). Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, founder of the One World One Family Mission, attended the inauguration.

Rajneesh said technology fulfils its true purpose only when it reaches the last person in society and improves lives. While AI skills are becoming essential for future employment, she said young people must also learn to use technology responsibly and ethically.


She said initiatives that bring education, skilling and employment closer to villages would strengthen the rural economy. Commending RuralShores, she said the company has spent the past 18 years creating employment opportunities in rural India and reducing migration to urban centres.

"Technology must be accompanied by compassion, ethics and human values. It should enhance human intelligence rather than merely accelerate automation," she said.

Sadguru Madhusudan Sai said technology should empower people, not replace them. Equipping individuals with skills that enable them to become self-reliant is the highest form of service, he said.

He said rural youth should enjoy the same opportunities as their urban counterparts. Access to quality education, advanced training and industry exposure would enable them to compete globally while creating employment closer to their homes, he added.

Referring to Muddenahalli, the birthplace of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, he said the village has evolved into a hub for education, healthcare, technology and humanitarian service.

RAISE to focus on generative AI
The Rural Artificial Intelligence Skill and Experience (RAISE) Centre will train rural youth in generative AI, provide hands-on project experience and expose them to industry requirements.

The initiative aims to connect rural talent with the global digital economy while creating technology-led employment opportunities in villages. Founded in Bagepalli in 2009, RuralShores now operates 15 rural centres and says more than 27,000 young people have built careers through its programmes.

Sadguru also announced that Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence will establish a new campus at Madiyala in Dakshina Kannada district. The campus, scheduled to be inaugurated in November during the birth centenary celebrations of educationist Madiyala Narayana Bhat, will focus on artificial intelligence and computer science.

RuralShores Director CG Srinivasan, Executive Chairman Murali Ulaganthi, Chikkaballapur Deputy Commissioner Prabhu G, Prashanthi Balamandira Trust Chairman BN Narasimha Murthy and SSSUHE Vice-Chancellor Srikanthamurthy were present on the occasion.