In a major step towards empowering Anganwadi educators and strengthening their professional and pedagogical capacities, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Chris Lehane, Chief Global Affairs Officer at OpenAI, and Azeez Gupta, Co-founder of Rocket Learning, announced ‘Shiksha Saathi’ at the recently concluded global AI Summit 2026.
Rocket Learning signed an agreement with the Government of Maharashtra and OpenAI to launch Shiksha Saathi across the state of Maharashtra. Also present at the launch were Rajesh Aggarwal, Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, Adv. Ashish Shelar, Minister of Information Technology & Cultural Affairs Maharashtra and Kaustubh Dhavse, Advisor to Chief Minister. Developed by Rocket Learning in collaboration with OpenAI, Shiksha Saathi is a pioneering multilingual WhatsApp-based AI assistant.
It is designed to provide guidance on developmental milestones, early learning, national curriculum-aligned practices; as well as on everyday strategies to foster positive learning environments. With this launch, Maharashtra becomes the first state to implement an AI-enabled tool for Anganwadi educators at scale, strengthening foundational learning outcomes for children below the age of 6 across Maharashtra.
Rocket Learning is one of India’s largest not-for-profit organizations, focused on supporting early childhood care and education (ECCE) at a national scale. ‘Shiksha Saathi’ is an educational tool crafted to support Anganwadi educators and parents by providing personalised responses to queries about early childhood development and primary education. It offers guidance on a range of topics, supporting lakhs of Anganwadi educators with real-time, accessible guidance, including the national curriculum and activities that can be carried out at Anganwadi centers to enhance the learning experiences of children before the age of 6.
The tool’s responses are rooted in the Aadharshila curriculum and adaptable into regional languages, which ensures reliable and relevant guidance that aligns with national education norms.
‘Shiksha Saathi’ allows Anganwadi educators to ask questions on developmental milestones, educational routines and effective practices to nurture young children. It caters to everyday challenges faced by parents and Anganwadi educators, helping them foster good habits and create positive learning environments for children.
Telling us more about this partnership, Siddhant Sachdeva, Co-founder of Rocket Learning said, “‘Shiksha Saathi’ has been created from our belief that AI can be a powerful equaliser in education. In partnership with OpenAI, we are building tools that empower parents, teachers and communities to unlock every child’s potential by making high-quality guidance accessible across diverse communities. We are grateful for the partnership of the Government of Maharashtra, Hon’ble CM Devendra Fadnavis and Open AI in this decisive step towards transforming foundational learning at scale. We are excited to see this fulfil the promise of universal school readiness by 2030."
Rocket Learning works with 400,000+ Anganwadi educators across 200+ districts, processing numerous images and videos as part of the teaching methodology on a daily basis. This allows Rocket Learning to use data and real-time feedback to create impactful AI solutions at scale. Partnering with the Government of India, it aims to create effective models to support and enhance the world’s largest daycare network, aligned with existing systems and initiatives, with an aim to positively impact 50 million underserved children by 2030.
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