Which AI Certifications Are Worth It for Freshers in India? Guide to Free and Paid Options

But wait – before you rush to enroll in the first AI course you see, let me ask you this: Why do you really need an AI certification? Is it just to add another line to your resume, or do you genuinely want to build skills that will make you indispensable in the workplace?

The real power of AI certifications lies in choosing the RIGHT ones that align with your career goals and actually building the skills behind them. It’s not about collecting certificates – it’s about strategic selection that transforms you from just another fresher to a job-ready professional.

Whether you’re from IIT or a local engineering college, this guide will show you exactly which AI certifications will fast-track your career without emptying your wallet.

Why AI Certifications Matter for Freshers in India

Let’s be honest – the Indian job market is brutal for freshers. Employers want experience, but how do you get experience without a job?

No matter which IT role you apply for — support, frontend, backend, or anything else, I suggest you have at least one AI certification in your resume — it can give you a strong advantage.

AI certifications solve this problem.

Let’s look at the data below:

• 73% of Indian AI employers prefer certified freshers over non-certified ones
• Companies are actively seeking candidates with relevant AI skills.
• 85% of AI job postings mention specific certifications as preferred qualifications

Think certifications as your proof of competence. When you can’t show 2+ years of experience, you show industry-recognized skills instead.

Free AI Certifications That Get You Hired

1. Generative AI for Everyone (DeepLearning.AI)

Time Investment: 6-8 weeks

This course is Perfect for complete beginners from any background.

It’s available on both Coursera and the DeepLearning.AI platform, and free to enroll on both.

This course is your gateway to the latest AI trend of 2025. It covers ChatGPT, prompt engineering, AI content creation, and practical business applications.

Taught by Andrew Ng in simple English, it’s perfect for non-tech graduates who want to understand how AI is reshaping every industry.

The purpose of this course is to “ensure everyone can be a participant in an AI-powered future” and focuses on making AI accessible to non-technical audiences.

Why it works for freshers: Most AI jobs today involve generative AI tools like ChatGPT. This course teaches you skills that employers actually need and will help you stand out in job interviews.

🔗Start Generative AI For Everyone Course

2. Machine Learning Specialization (Coursera)

Time Investment: 11 weeks

This is perfect for Engineering students with basic programming knowledge.

This course is created by DeepLearning.AI in partnership with Stanford Online, and taught by Andrew Ng.

It’s an updated version of Andrew’s Machine Learning course, rated 4.9 out of 5 and taken by over 4.8 million learners since it launched in 2012.

Andrew Ng, an AI visionary who has led critical research at Stanford University and work at Google Brain, Baidu, and Landing.AI to advance the AI field.

Over 6 lakh+ students worldwide have taken this course. It covers supervised learning, unsupervised learning, and neural networks with hands-on programming assignments.

Why it works for freshers: Hiring managers recognize this course. It’s like having a Stanford professor vouch for your skills.

🔗Start Machine Learning Specialization

3. IBM AI Fundamentals (IBM SkillsBuild)

Time Investment: 4-6 weeks

This course is perfect for IT students, freshers, and non-tech learners who want to understand the basics of AI without needing any prior experience.

IBM’s free certification covers AI ethics, machine learning, and practical applications. It includes hands-on labs and real-world case studies.

Why it works for freshers: IBM is a major employer in India. This certification shows you understand their approach to AI, and get a Certificate which is globally recognized.

🔗 Start IBM AI Fundamentals on IBM SkillsBuild

Check Our Guide to IBM SkillBuild to Get a Globally Recognized Certificate For Free.

4. Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900)

Time Investment: 3-4 weeks

Perfect for Students who are interested in cloud-based AI.

This demonstrates knowledge of machine learning and AI concepts, which is related to Microsoft Azure services.

You can use Azure AI Fundamentals to prepare for other Azure role-based certifications like Azure Data Scientist Associate or Azure AI Engineer Associate, but it’s not mandatory.

It’s entry-level friendly and doesn’t require prior experience.

Why it works for freshers: Cloud skills are in massive demand. This certification shows you can work with modern, cloud-based AI tools.

The course content for AI‑900 is indeed free, but for the certification exam, you need to pay (around $99).

But don’t worry, you can reduce or waive the fee by:

• Using free vouchers from Microsoft events or challenges.
• Redeeming regional student discounts when available
• Waiting for promotional campaigns (e.g., “30‑days‑to‑learn‑it”).

🔗Start Microsoft Azure AI Fundamentals (AI-900)

5. Kaggle Learn Micro-Courses

Time Investment: 2-3 hours per course

It’s a set of 14 micro‑courses by Kaggle that is completely free.

Kaggle offers bite-sized courses on Python, machine learning, data visualization, and deep learning.

Great for anyone who wants to learn Python, ML, SQL, and data visualization in a practical way. These courses give short lessons with live coding, so you can understand the topic and try it out right away.

Why it works for freshers: Kaggle is where data scientists compete. Having these micro-certifications shows you’re part of the community.

🔗 Start Kaggle Micro-Courses

Paid AI Certifications Worth Your Investment

1. Google Cloud Professional Machine Learning Engineer

Cost: ₹17,000 (exam fee)

Time Investment: 3-4 months

Perfect for CS graduates with some programming experience.

This is Google’s advanced ML certification. It covers designing, building, and deploying ML models on Google Cloud Platform.

Companies hiring freshers look for project-ready candidates, and this certification proves you know how to build and deploy ML models in production.

This is highly respected by companies hiring for ML/AI roles, because it covers real-world job tasks, not just theory, with new AI trends like GenAI and MLOps.

Why it’s worth it: Google Cloud is growing rapidly in India. This certification can land you roles at top companies like Flipkart, Zomato, and Paytm.

🔗 Start Google Cloud Professional ML Engineer

2. AWS Certified Machine Learning – Speciality

Cost: ₹23,000 (exam fee)

Time Investment: 4-6 months

If you’re a fresher, if you already understand machine learning and want to go deeper into real-world ML systems using AWS, this certification is a game-changer.

Because it helps you get noticed by employers hiring for AI/ML roles.

Amazon’s ML certification is highly respected in the industry. It covers data engineering, exploratory data analysis, modeling, and ML implementation.

Why it’s worth it: AWS dominates the cloud market. This certification opens doors to high-paying roles at startups and enterprises.

🔗Start AWS Certified Machine Learning – Specialty

3. Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate

Cost: ₹12,000 (exam fee)

Time Investment: 2-3 months

Azure AI Engineer Associate (exam AI‑102) is a strong next step after foundational certifications like AI‑900 (as we discussed above).

Perfect for students who are familiar with Azure basics.

The Azure AI Engineer Associate (Exam AI-102) proves you can:

• Design and build AI solutions using Microsoft Azure
• Work with tools like Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Bot Service, and OpenAI
• Build real projects like chatbots, vision apps, and AI search engines

This certification focuses on implementing AI solutions using Azure services. It covers cognitive services, machine learning, and knowledge mining.

Why it’s worth it: Microsoft has a strong presence in Indian enterprises. This certification is perfect for corporate AI roles.

🔗 Start learning Microsoft Azure AI Engineer Associate

4. NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute Certifications (DLI)

Cost: ₹8,000-15,000 per course

Time Investment: 1-2 days per course

Perfect for students who are interested in GPU programming and deep learning.

NVIDIA offers hands-on courses in computer vision, natural language processing, and accelerated computing.

NVIDIA DLI certifications are great hands-on introductions, especially for GPU-accelerated deep learning and GenAI.

They shine when you pair them with personal projects—alone, the certificate isn’t as impactful for freshers. But used wisely (e.g., free courses + portfolio), It can give your AI resume a serious boost.

Why it’s worth it: NVIDIA is leading the AI hardware revolution. These certifications are perfect for research-oriented roles.

🔗 Start learning at NVIDIA (DLI)

Which AI Certifications to Choose

As a fresher, you can’t pursue everything. Here’s my recommendation from the above certifications based on career goals:

For Startup Jobs: Focus on Google Cloud and Kaggle certifications. Startups love Google’s tools and data science skills.

For Corporate Jobs: Go with Microsoft Azure certifications. Most Indian enterprises use Microsoft technologies.

For Research Roles: Pick NVIDIA certifications. They’re perfect for AI research and development positions.

For Technical Roles: Choose AWS certifications. They’re the most technically rigorous and respected.

I recommend starting with free courses to build basic for 1 to 2 months:

• Google AI for Everyone
• Andrew Ng’s Machine Learning Course
• programming basics

Then, choose one paid certification based on your career goals:

• Cloud-focused: Azure AI Fundamentals
• Technical depth: AWS ML Specialty
• Practical skills: Google Cloud ML Engineer

Here are some “Online Free Resources” That Works

• YouTube Channels: 3Blue1Brown for ML math, Two Minute Papers for latest research
• Practice Platforms: Kaggle Learn, Google Colab notebooks
• GitHub Repositories: Awesome Machine Learning, ML-For-Beginners by Microsoft
• FreeCodeCamp: Data Analysis with Python, Machine Learning with Python
• Fast.ai: Practical Deep Learning for Coders (completely free, university-level)

After doing the certification then quickly work on projects that showcase your skills:

• Build 3-4 end-to-end ML projects
• Create a GitHub portfolio with a proper README.md file

Conclusion

The AI revolution in India is just beginning.

Companies like Reliance, Tata, and hundreds of startups are seeking AI talent.

Your fresher status isn’t a disadvantage – it’s your opportunity to build cutting-edge skills from the ground up.

Start with free courses to build confidence, then strategically invest in premium certifications that align with your dream job. Remember, every AI expert was once a beginner who took the first step.

Your journey starts today. Pick your first certification and start learning from the beginning. The future belongs to those who prepare for it – and you’re about to become one of them.

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