For decades, people from India’s underserved communities have believed AI technology isn’t for them. Can you blame them? A report in The Wire, spotlighting how AI endangers diversity, spoke of how AI’s application “in this age of inequality has the potential of exacerbating existing inequalities and plaguing underprivileged communities”. But there’s also another side to this; the article further went on to explore the potential of AI as a “greater science” in lifting underprivileged communities out of their situations. 

The pathway to this alternate route lies in ensuring that people from fringe communities are also allowed access to AI, tools and technology through which they can scale their ideas, develop solutions for their communities and essentially use the vocabulary of technology for their own social good. 

That’s where CodeYogi factors in. 

Enabling AI fluency

CodeYogi is transforming access to technology education by proving that learning to code does not require expensive computers or elite institutions. 

Founded in 2020 by IIT Delhi alumnus and software engineer Prashant Chaudhary, engineering educator Priyanka Sethi, and startup growth professional Rakesh Sehgal, as an online coding bootcamp and formally registered as the CodeYogi Foundation in 2025, the organisation has developed a smartphone-first learning platform that enables students from government schools and polytechnics to build websites, applications and AI-powered solutions using only low-cost Android phones.

The idea emerged from the founders’ own experiences of overcoming educational barriers. Having witnessed how talented students from underserved communities often lacked guidance, infrastructure and exposure, they set out to create an accessible pathway into technology careers. 

Their early programmes, conducted in partnership with the Uttarakhand government, trained students through live online coding classes. 

Although many participants secured internships and software jobs, the team realised that dependence on poorly equipped computer labs severely limited students’ ability to practise consistently.

Rather than waiting for better infrastructure, CodeYogi redesigned its entire model around the one device most students already owned: a smartphone. The organisation built a browser-based coding platform that requires no software installation and works even on entry-level devices. 

Students learn through short Hindi video lessons delivered via AI-powered chatbots on Telegram and WhatsApp before writing code in a custom mobile coding editor equipped with programming-friendly keyboards, instant assignment evaluation and AI-generated coding hints in Hindi. This allows learners to study independently, overcome language barriers and receive personalised support without fear of judgement.

The platform has grown rapidly, reaching more than three lakh students across nine states and over 100 districts, with nearly 62,000 students already building websites directly from their phones. 

Around 95 percent of learners access the programme entirely through smartphones, nearly half are girls, and many come from non-STEM backgrounds.

Becoming creators rather than consumers of technology

CodeYogi’s model lies in learners building projects that address local challenges, including waste management systems adopted by district administrations, library digitisation platforms, AI-powered educational tools, and applications supporting rural entrepreneurship. 

Students who once believed technology careers were reserved for urban, English-speaking graduates are now participating in hackathons, creating professional portfolios and developing solutions for their own communities.

By removing barriers of cost, language and infrastructure, CodeYogi is not only expanding access to coding education but also reshaping how young people from underserved backgrounds perceive their own potential. Its smartphone-first model demonstrates that meaningful digital inclusion is possible when technology is designed around the realities of the people it aims to serve.

How creating access to technology will solve India’s tech-population divide

45 percent of the Indian population, or about 665 million citizens, did not access the internet as of 2023. The reasons for this inaccessibility, the study found, were difficulty in using the internet (as 23 percent of the people suggested). Another 17 percent said the “internet is too expensive”. 

In light of studies like this one that underscore people’s reluctance towards the internet and AI, CodeYogi emerges as an exemplar, which, if scaled, could revolutionise India’s relationship with technology, particularly among communities living in fringe villages. 

CodeYogi demonstrates that the biggest barrier to digital inclusion is often not talent, but access. Its smartphone-first, AI-enabled model has shown that students from underserved communities can acquire advanced technology skills when learning is designed around the devices they already own, the languages they speak, and the realities they live in. 

Scaling this model nationally could unlock a vast pool of untapped talent while narrowing India’s persistent digital and economic divides.

The broader opportunity extends far beyond coding. Similar AI-powered learning platforms could transform education, vocational training, agriculture, healthcare and entrepreneurship by providing personalised, multilingual guidance to people who have historically lacked access to quality instruction or expert support. 

As generative AI becomes increasingly capable of acting as a tutor, mentor and problem-solving assistant, underserved communities stand to benefit enormously, provided these tools are affordable, accessible and locally relevant.

Equally important is the shift in mindset such models create. Instead of remaining passive consumers of technology, young people begin using AI and digital tools to solve problems within their own communities, create businesses, and pursue careers previously seen as unattainable. 

With India already having widespread smartphone penetration, expanding initiatives like CodeYogi could help build a generation of AI-literate innovators from every corner of the country, ensuring that the benefits of the AI revolution are distributed far more equitably.