NEW DELHI: Adobe has unveiled a major education-focused investment to expand access to its AI-powered creative and productivity tools for students in India, as the company deepens its alignment with the government’s skilling and creator-economy ambitions.

Announced at the India AI Impact Summit, the initiative will provide applications such as Firefly, Photoshop and Acrobat free of charge to students through accredited higher education institutions across the country. The package includes software access, structured curriculum, training modules and industry-recognised credentials.

The programme supports the government’s ‘Create in India’ vision and the Union Budget 2026 goal of generating two million jobs in the animation, visual effects, gaming and comics (AVGC) sector by 2030.

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Working with the government, Adobe said it will make its AI tools and learning resources available at no cost to 15,000 schools and 500 colleges equipped with Content Creator Labs.

Shantanu Narayen, chair and ceo of Adobe, said the move would expand creative opportunity for millions of Indian students while accelerating the prime minister’s vision for a digitally skilled workforce.

Adobe said Firefly integrates creative AI models from partners including Google, OpenAI and Runway, enabling users to generate content using multiple models. Acrobat Pro will support productivity and collaboration tasks such as editing text and images.

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Separately, Adobe India has partnered with NASSCOM FutureSkills Prime, a digital skilling initiative backed by the ministry of electronics and information technology, to offer free courses and certifications. The programmes are aimed at preparing students for roles across design, animation, gaming, marketing, media, e-commerce and technology.