Activities

What has happened at the lab so far, newest first.

26 April 2026 · The Sangha's leadership visits the lab

Swami Biswatmananda ji Maharaj, General Secretary of Bharat Sevashram Sangha, visited the lab on 26 April 2026, with Swami Atmajnanananda ji Maharaj and senior Swamijis from centres across India.

The volunteers who run the lab showed them the work. The five workstations and the teaching screen. The Raspberry Pi and Arduino corner, where a learner wires a circuit by hand. The smart devices and the voice assistant. A machine trained to tell one thing from another, start to finish, in about ninety seconds.

Six weeks before this visit the room did not exist. By the day they came, the first Beginner batch was already running, and one of those learners spoke about what had changed for him.

Senior monks of Bharat Sevashram Sangha seated in the lab watching a demonstration, with a breadboard and lit LEDs on the bench in front.
The visit included a working demonstration on the bench.

04 April 2026 · AI Masterclass for PGDAV (Evening) College

The lab held its first masterclass on Saturday 4 April 2026, for around twenty students of PGDAV (Evening) College, University of Delhi. It ran from eleven in the morning until a quarter past two, and it cost the college and the students nothing.

The group came from B.Com and B.A. Political Science, first year through to fourth. Two of their teachers came with them, Prof. Harish Arora of the Hindi department and Dr. Manoj Kumar of Political Science.

The session had three parts. Two hours on how AI works and how to write prompts that get useful answers, with everything shown live rather than described. Half an hour on the hardware, the Arduino sensors, the Raspberry Pi and the voice-controlled devices. Half an hour on what these skills are worth in the job market, and what else matters alongside them.

Certificates were presented to every student by Swamy Atmajnanananda Ji Maharaj, Secretary (Delhi), Bharat Sevashram Sangha.

The written feedback afterwards pointed at the same thing again and again. The framework for writing prompts, and watching it work live, was what students valued most. Several wrote that the session turned AI from something abstract into something they could use that week.

Students and faculty of PGDAV (Evening) College with Swamy Atmajnanananda Ji Maharaj outside the lab entrance.
The group outside the lab at the end of the session.

15 March 2026 · The lab opens

The Swami Pranavananda AI & Robotics Lab opened on 15 March 2026 at Bharat Sevashram Sangha, Sriniwaspuri, New Delhi.

Smt. Nidhi Khare IAS, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, performed the inauguration. Capt. (Dr.) Indu Boken Kasana, District Education Officer, Gurugram, and Swamy Atmajnanananda Ji Maharaj, Secretary (Delhi), Bharat Sevashram Sangha, were guests of honour.

A volunteer presenting at the lab's teaching screen, which shows a live AI demonstration written in mixed Hindi and English.
A live demonstration on the opening day, in Hindi and English together.

“AI is no longer a tool only for the technologist. It is fast becoming as fundamental as reading and writing. An initiative that teaches a first-generation learner to use these tools is not just building a skill, it is building a future.”

Smt. Nidhi Khare IAS, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India

“Students today are growing up in a world where AI will decide who gets a job interview and who does not. A school student who understands how these tools work has a head start that no textbook can give them.”

Capt. (Dr.) Indu Boken Kasana, District Education Officer, Gurugram, Haryana

“Swami Pranavananda taught us that true seva is giving people the power to stand on their own feet. Every technology has transformed the world in its time. Today that technology is AI.”

Swamy Atmajnanananda Ji Maharaj, Secretary (Delhi), Bharat Sevashram Sangha

The opening was carried by ANI wire syndication to 138 publications in India and abroad. Demo classes began the following week.

What is next

Batches are running now, and more are planned. If you would like to be in one of them, start here.

How to apply