PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 21 -- Students pursuing traditional courses such as Intermediate, BA, BSc and BCom in state universities, colleges and intermediate institutions across Uttar Pradesh will soon receive career guidance with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Acting on the directions of the Union Ministry of Education, a pilot project is being launched in 20 educational institutions in Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. If successful, the initiative will be expanded to other districts of the state, said officials of Prayagraj-headquartered UP Education Directorate. In line with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, the Union Ministry of Education has partnered with the Wadhwani Foundation to prepare students according to the needs of the market and industry. Under this initiative, students of selected colleges in Varanasi will be provided AI-based career counselling, employability and soft skills development, entrepreneurship training, and hands-on experience with AI-driven tools. The programme will also offer post-training support for six months, officials shared. A letter in this regard was sent on January 5 by joint secretary of the Ministry of Education, Govind Jaiswal, to principal secretary (Higher Education) MP Agarwal. Confirming the move, officiating director of Higher Education, BL Sharma, said that the Wadhwani Foundation has developed a dedicated digital platform aimed at strengthening career preparedness, employability and entrepreneurial skills among students. The initiative includes structured learning and continuous support modules that includes AI-enabled career advisory through 'MyCareerAdvisor' (a dedicated career awareness and guidance application), employability and soft skills development, micro-entrepreneurship training along with six months post-programme support as well as AI-powered tools such as GenieAI Tutor, interview coach, resume assistant and personal pitch trainer, he added. The institutions selected for the pilot phase include UP College, Harishchandra Post Graduate College, DAV College, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Government Girls College, CM Anglo Bengali Inter College, among others in Varanasi....