Shantanu Narayan, Adobe’s Chairman and CEO, made headlines Thursday at New Delhi’s India AI Impact Summit 2026, pledging free AI tools to empower lakhs of Indian students. This initiative ramps up creative opportunities, aligning with PM Narendra Modi’s blueprint for a thriving, tech-savvy nation.
The package is impressive: complimentary Firefly (an AI-packed studio with Google, OpenAI, Runway models), Photoshop, and Acrobat, distributed through verified universities. Accompanying them are robust learning paths – courses, workshops, certifications – to forge AI-proficient professionals.
Safety first: Students access pre-vetted generative AI content for business-ready outputs, with options to integrate diverse models. Firefly offers boundless experimentation; Acrobat Pro excels in quick edits and collaborative feats, ideal for modern workflows.
Excited by potential student breakthroughs, Narayan sees this accelerating ‘Developed India’. It dovetails with ‘Create in India’ and the 2026 budget’s goal of 20 lakh AVGC jobs by 2030. Adobe’s government tie-up extends reach to 15,000 schools and 500 colleges, featuring state-of-the-art creator labs.
This is more than access – it’s an ecosystem shift, nurturing India’s creative talent to lead global AI innovation and secure economic futures.