TLDR: Students in Adavi Srirampur, a remote village in Telangana, are now leveraging advanced AI tools like Perplexity.ai for enhanced learning, thanks to the state government’s T-Fiber initiative. This program provides high-speed internet, enabling access to Silicon Valley-grade technologies and bridging the educational gap in rural areas.
In a significant stride towards digital inclusion, students at the Zilla Parishad High School (ZPHS) in Adavi Srirampur village, located in Peddapalli district, Telangana, are actively engaging with cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools. This transformative access is made possible by the Telangana government’s T-Fiber initiative, which delivers high-speed internet connectivity to remote areas.
Adavi Srirampur is one of four pilot villages under T-Fiber’s Proof of Concept rollout, showcasing the profound impact of digital infrastructure on educational equity. Students at the ZPHS are utilizing Perplexity.ai, an AI-powered research assistant, to ask questions, clarify doubts, and delve into subjects beyond their traditional textbooks through voice-enabled queries. This innovative approach is broadening their knowledge horizons and fostering a new era of learning.
Perplexity Co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas lauded the initiative, reposting a video of the students on social media platform ‘X’ and stating, ‘It is great to see schools in India having their students learn with Perplexity as a tutor. Our founding mission is to make the world’s knowledge accessible, and I’m glad it’s having its impact.’
Responding to Srinivas’s post, Telangana IT Minister D Sridhar Babu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to technological equity. He highlighted the ambitious goal of connecting one crore households with T-Fiber, ensuring that even students in villages as remote as Adavi Srirampur (200 km from Hyderabad) can access advanced technologies. ‘A government schoolgirl using Perplexity in her classroom is proof of this vision in action,’ Minister Babu stated.
According to T-Fiber MD P Venu Prasad, the initiative’s larger goal is to ‘connect the unconnected.’ He emphasized, ‘Through T-Fiber, we are not just delivering the internet; we are delivering opportunity, access, and a platform for rural students to thrive in the digital age. Telangana is committed to ensuring no village is left behind.’ Besides Adavi Srirampur, the other pilot villages in this transformative rollout include Hajipalle in Rangareddy, Maddur in Narayanpet, and Sangupet in Sangareddy districts.
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This local success story is part of Telangana’s broader vision to become a leader in AI integration. The state is set to unveil India’s first state-led digital public infrastructure for AI, aiming to create a shared, open-access digital foundation for AI tools, datasets, and models across key sectors like education, governance, and healthcare. This infrastructure will support personalized learning tools and AI tutors for remote areas, further bridging the rural-urban digital divide. Furthermore, the Telangana government has an ambitious goal to train two lakh Artificial Intelligence engineers and plans to establish an AI University within its proposed Future City project near Hyderabad, solidifying its commitment to fostering an AI-driven future for all its citizens.
