India’s education system is increasingly moving beyond traditional classroom learning, with digital tools, artificial intelligence and creative problem-solving becoming an important part of preparing students for the future of work.
Against this backdrop, Adobe has announced a new multi-state education initiative in India. The company has signed Memorandums of Understanding with the governments of Delhi, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Goa to expand access to digital creativity and AI skills in government schools.
As part of the initiative, thousands of government schools will receive access to Adobe Express for Education at no cost, while students and teachers will also receive access to digital creativity and AI-focused learning resources.
Adobe says the initiative expands its K-12 reach in India to 7.8 million students and teachers.
The announcement is significant not simply because a major software company is giving schools free access to its tools, but because it brings creative technology, AI-assisted content creation and digital storytelling directly into the school ecosystem.
What is Adobe Express and What Is Being Made Available?
Adobe Express is Adobe’s relatively lightweight digital creativity platform that allows users to create presentations, graphics, videos, webpages, animations and other visual content without requiring the advanced skills traditionally associated with professional creative software.
For schools, Adobe offers a dedicated Adobe Express for Education version. It includes classroom-oriented features such as assignments, collaboration, teacher-managed classrooms, education-specific privacy controls and student-friendly creative tools. Adobe also says the education version includes premium creative assets and safe search features, without advertising or pop-ups.
Under the new India initiative, the offering goes beyond simply giving students access to a design application.
Adobe says the programme is being delivered under its Adobe Digital Academy initiative and is intended to build skills in creative problem-solving, digital storytelling and AI-assisted content creation.
How Does This Fit Into India’s National Education Push?
Adobe’s initiative does not exist in isolation. It fits into a much larger transformation already underway in India’s education system.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 places considerable emphasis on technology integration, creativity, critical thinking, experiential learning and preparing students for a rapidly changing economy. The policy specifically discusses the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and other digital tools in education.
Several national programmes are already working toward this broader digital transformation.
PM e-VIDYA and DIKSHA
PM e-VIDYA brings together multiple forms of digital and remote education, including online platforms, television, radio and digital content. Its DIKSHA platform functions as a national digital infrastructure for school education, providing curriculum-linked learning resources to students and teachers across India.
However, platforms such as DIKSHA are primarily focused on accessing educational content and supporting teaching and learning. Adobe’s contribution adds another dimension: creative production.
Students are not only consuming digital content; they are being encouraged to create it.
PM SHRI Schools
The PM SHRI scheme is another important part of this transition. The programme aims to develop more than 14,500 exemplar schools aligned with NEP 2020, with an emphasis on modern infrastructure, innovative pedagogy and 21st-century skills. As of July 2026, 13,092 schools had been selected across 36 States and Union Territories.
Adobe’s announcement explicitly says its initiative will extend to PM SHRI schools, along with CM SHRI schools, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan schools.
Samagra Shiksha and digital classrooms
India’s Samagra Shiksha framework also supports the development of ICT infrastructure and digital classrooms in government schools. Recent government information notes that states can receive support for infrastructure such as ICT facilities and digital classrooms based on identified gaps.
So, Adobe is essentially entering an ecosystem where digital education infrastructure is already being built at the national level.
What About State-Level Schemes?
This is where the seven-state partnership becomes particularly interesting.
Education in India is a Concurrent List subject, meaning both the Centre and states have roles in shaping education policy and implementation. The Ministry of Education has also noted that a large proportion of schools and higher education institutions fall within the domain of individual States and Union Territories.
That means a company trying to introduce a large-scale technology programme into government schools cannot simply operate through a single national agreement and expect uniform implementation everywhere.
State governments have their own digital education priorities and infrastructure.
For example:
- Bihar has recently expanded technology-enabled learning through initiatives such as Bihar School Live Classes and the Bihar Vidya Saathi platform.
- Assam has invested in ICT-enabled classrooms, smart classrooms, tele-education and tinkering labs. Its education system also has digital initiatives such as e-Kaksha and the Shiksha Setu digital-governance programme.
- Goa has gone further into technology-oriented education through its Coding and Robotics Education in Schools (CARES) programme, which focuses on computational thinking, design thinking and programming.
- Other participating states are similarly operating within the broader national push toward technology-enabled and future-ready education.
This makes Adobe’s approach notable. Instead of trying to impose a single programme uniformly across the country, it is working through state-level partnerships and existing school networks.
Why Only These Seven States?
Adobe has not publicly stated that these seven states were selected because they are the seven most digitally advanced states, nor has it published a detailed state-by-state selection criterion. Therefore, it would be misleading to claim that there is one definitive reason for the selection.
What we can say is that the partnership is being implemented through state-government MoUs, and education delivery in India is significantly decentralised.
There are several reasonable factors that may help explain the initial seven-state footprint.
- State governments are critical implementation partners
Because education is a shared responsibility between the Centre and states, government-school programmes often require state-level coordination. An MoU allows Adobe to work with individual education departments and their existing school networks rather than attempting a one-size-fits-all rollout.
- The states already have digital-education activity
The participating states are not starting from zero. Assam, for instance, already has ICT infrastructure, smart classrooms and digital learning programmes. Goa has an established coding and robotics programme. Bihar has recently launched new technology-enabled learning initiatives.
That creates an ecosystem in which creative and AI tools can potentially be integrated more easily. - The seven states provide geographic diversity
The list spans very different parts of India:
- North: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand
- East: Bihar
- South: Tamil Nadu
- Northeast: Assam
- West: Goa
So this is not simply a programme concentrated in one region.
- It is likely an initial rollout rather than a final list
Adobe itself says the initiative has plans to expand to additional schools and states over time.
Therefore, we can interpret that Adobe has begun a state-by-state rollout with seven governments, with the potential to expand nationally.
What Does This Mean for India?
The biggest implication is that digital literacy is gradually becoming broader than simply knowing how to use a computer or access the internet.
Students increasingly need to know how to create digital content, communicate ideas visually, work collaboratively, use AI responsibly, evaluate information, present projects, and solve problems creatively.
These are precisely the types of capabilities Adobe is attempting to introduce through this partnership.
And there is a larger economic argument behind it
India is trying to prepare a very large young population for an economy where AI, digital media, software, design and content creation are becoming increasingly interconnected. The government has also identified the creative economy as an area with employment potential; Adobe specifically connected its initiative with the Union Budget 2026’s goal of creating two million jobs in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) by 2030.
This means creative literacy could increasingly become an employability skill, rather than something considered secondary to conventional academic subjects.
There is also an equity argument. Professional creative software has traditionally been associated with paid subscriptions and relatively specialised users. Making educational versions of creative tools available free to government schools can reduce at least one barrier to entry.
The bigger challenge, however, will be implementation
Giving students access to software does not automatically create digital literacy. Schools also need adequate devices, reliable connectivity, trained teachers and time within the curriculum to actually use these tools. India’s own NEP recognises the importance of digital infrastructure, teacher training and addressing the digital divide alongside technology adoption.
So the success of Adobe’s initiative will ultimately depend less on the number of licences distributed and more on how deeply the tools become integrated into classroom learning.
What Does This Mean for Adobe?
For Adobe, the partnership is equally strategic. India represents an enormous potential user base, particularly among its young population.
Introducing students to Adobe’s ecosystem at school can create familiarity with its products long before those students enter college or the workforce. And Adobe is already pursuing this strategy beyond K-12 education.
Earlier in 2026, the company announced free access to products including Photoshop, Acrobat and Firefly for eligible students through accredited higher-education institutions in India, alongside AI-first learning and certification initiatives through NASSCOM FutureSkills Prime. Adobe is effectively trying to make its tools part of the journey by which India’s next generation learns to create and work with digital content.
There is also a shift in what Adobe is positioning itself as. It is no longer just a company selling professional design software. With products such as Adobe Express and Firefly, it increasingly wants to be part of the AI-powered creation process, including among students and first-time creators.
The Adobe-state partnerships may look like a straightforward technology-access programme, but they point toward a larger change in India’s education system, with creation being prioritised over consumption.
muskan singh
