SmartBharat Pushing For Computer Literacy Among Underserved Students

What makes SmartBharat unique is not just the use of cutting-edge AI to localise content, but the fact that it was born out of Hyderabad’s vibrant ecosystem of innovation and education

Hyderabad: City-based SmartBharat, founded by 17-year-old Aaryaman, is transforming the way computer education is delivered to millions of underprivileged students.

Launched in December 2023, SmartBharat has already been piloted at eight government schools in Telangana. The initiative provides gamified, story-driven computer programming lessons—translated via AI into regional Indian languages—so that students can learn in the language they’re most comfortable with.

What makes SmartBharat unique is not just the use of cutting-edge AI to localize content, but the fact that it was born out of Hyderabad’s vibrant ecosystem of innovation and education. “Technology shouldn’t be a privilege—it should be a right. We’re building SmartBharat to ensure every child, regardless of where they are in India, gets a chance to learn the language of the future,” says Aaryaman.

Despite 35.8 per cent of India’s government schools having functional computer labs, a shortage of trained computer teachers—especially those fluent in local languages—renders these facilities underutilised. For governments, hiring and deploying such specialized talent could cost up to $2.4 billion annually—an unrealistic ask in a resource-constrained system. That’s where SmartBharat steps in, offering a cost-effective, scalable, and sustainable solution.

SmartBharat’s impact hasn’t gone unnoticed. It has already secured a $3,000 grant from Nord Anglia Education—beating out student-led projects from over 30 countries— and also earned accolade from Nirmaan.org and Secretary of the Telangana Board of Intermediate Education. In recognition of his contributions to the field of education, Aaryaman has also been selected as a fellow of the UNESCO Learning Planet recently. With backing from local and national partners including Nirmaan.org, India Literacy Project, and Camb.ai, the initiative is now set to scale to over a 1000 schools over the next two years.

From his early beginnings learning to code at seven, to founding BuilderGroop—a 6,000-member international community for Gen-Z entrepreneurs—Aaryaman’s journey has been anything but conventional. His commitment to social innovation, especially in his hometown of Hyderabad, is inspiring a wave of student-led tech-for-good efforts across the region.

With Telangana becoming the testing ground for this ambitious project, Hyderabad is positioning itself not just as a tech hub, but as a springboard for social transformation.