CBSE · Session 2026-27 · Code lookup

CBSE AI Subject Codes 417, 843 and CT & AI: Which Applies to Which Class in 2026-27

CBSE has two AI subject codes and one separately named subject: code 417 is Artificial Intelligence as a skill subject for Classes 9-10, code 843 is Artificial Intelligence for Classes 11-12, and Computational Thinking & Artificial Intelligence (CT & AI) is the separate track that schools are directed to introduce for Classes 3-8 from 2026-27. In 2026-27 the moving part is 417: standalone Class 9 AI stands discontinued, while the Class 10 batch that started 417 in 2025-26 continues.

Every row above is quoted from the CBSE circular and curriculum documents linked at the foot of this page · Facts as verified 31 Aug 2026 in the linked source posts; this summary compiled 16 Sep 2026.

Code 417: Classes 9 and 10

417 is CBSE’s subject code for Artificial Intelligence as a skill subject in Classes 9 and 10. It is an optional skill subject — schools can choose whether to include it. Its syllabus runs across six units: introduction to AI, the AI project cycle, machine learning basics, natural language processing, computer vision, and AI ethics and bias, with a significant share of the marks in the practical component.

What changed for 2026-27 is Class 9. CBSE Circular Acad-18/2026 (9 April 2026) states: “All other courses on AI being run till the session 2025-26 are being discontinued for class IX, session 2026-27 onwards.” Based on that circular, the standalone Class 9 AI offering — including the 417 skill elective — stands discontinued from 2026-27. For the class above, the same circular is unambiguous: “Students of class X for the session 2026-27 will continue with the scheme followed in the session 2025-26”, so students who took 417 in Class 9 in 2025-26 complete it in Class 10.

The full two-track answer, including the contradiction still live on CBSE’s own curriculum page, is in our Class 9 and 10 AI subject guide (417).

Code 843: Classes 11 and 12

843 is the code for Artificial Intelligence in Classes 11 and 12, an optional elective skill subject worth 100 marks — 50 theory and 50 practical. Theory is Part A Employability Skills (10 marks) plus eight subject units (40 marks). It runs under CBSE’s Department of Skill Education, toward the “AI Assistant” job role.

One code, two different years: Class 11 builds foundations — a light Python introduction, data literacy, machine learning algorithms, AI ethics — with a 12-mark capstone and a 5-mark industry certification such as IBM SkillsBuild inside the practical half. Class 12 goes applied: data science methodology, computer vision, big data, neural networks, generative AI and data storytelling, with a 25-mark capstone dominating the practical scheme and two practical-only units that carry no theory marks. Mixing the two unit lists up is the most common error on syllabus summaries.

Unit-by-unit tables, verified against the CBSE-published PDFs: Class 11 (843) and Class 12 (843). Our own Grade 11 and Grade 12 learning paths pair the same ground with practice lessons.

CT & AI: Classes 3-8 now, Class 9 from 2027-28

Computational Thinking & Artificial Intelligence is not 417 under a new name — it is a separate track. For the primary and middle years, CBSE’s wording is: “From the academic session 2026–27, schools are directed to introduce Computational Thinking and Artificial Intelligence for students of Classes III to VIII in a developmental, age-appropriate, and competency-based manner…” It is embedded in existing subject periods, low-tech, with no additional instructional time. “Directed to introduce” is the operative phrase; it is not described as a compulsory examined subject at these classes.

The compulsory milestone sits further out. Per the Secondary Curriculum footnote, “CT & AI as a compulsory subject in session 2027-28” for Class 9, assessed by school-based internal assessment and annual examination rather than a board exam, with “details will be informed in due course”.

The grade-band view — what Classes 3-5, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12 actually cover — is in our CBSE AI curriculum overview for Classes 3 to 12.

Two date conflicts this page does not resolve

Both conflicts are between documents CBSE itself published, and CBSE has not reconciled either. We report them as they stand rather than picking the convenient date.

• Class 9 AI (417), offered or discontinued? The 2026-27 curriculum page still lists the Class IX AI (417) syllabus among optional subjects, but that PDF was published 2 April 2026 — a week before Circular Acad-18/2026, which discontinues standalone Class-IX AI. The older syllabus PDF remained posted as of August 2026.
• CT & AI modules for Classes 9-12, which session? Circular Acad-18/2026 says the NCERT modules come “for the session 2026-27… as modules for internal assessment”; the Secondary Curriculum Part 1 document says “in the Academic Session 2027-28”.

Practical consequence for a school: confirm through your CBSE regional office or the LOC before offering 417 in Class 9, and treat any single-date summary — including the ones that quote us — with suspicion until CBSE publishes a correction.

Where do the codes sit in a school’s 2026-27 planning?

For an existing CBSE school, three AI tracks can be live at once: the 843 elective in Classes 11-12, the continuing Class 10 batch of 417, and CT & AI rolling up from Classes 3-8. All three are taught on ordinary computers. The separate room question — Circular Skill-75/2024’s Composite Skill Lab, due within three years of 23 August 2024 — is covered in our Composite Skill Lab and AI guide, which also notes the precision most vendor pages miss: that circular never mentions AI.

Frequently asked questions

Primary sources

• CBSE Circular Acad-18/2026 — the Class IX discontinuation, the Class X continuation and the CT & AI direction for Classes 3-8.
• Secondary Curriculum Part 1, 2026-27 — the footnote making CT & AI a compulsory Class 9 subject in session 2027-28.
• CBSE 2026-27 curriculum page — where the Class IX 417 syllabus PDF (published 2 April 2026) is still listed.
• 843-AI-XI.pdf and 843-AI-XII.pdf — the Class 11 and Class 12 syllabi for code 843.
• Circular Skill-75/2024 — the Composite Skill Lab requirement, dated 23.08.2024, which never mentions AI.

CBSE’s own “Computational Thinking & AI” Class IX curriculum link returned a 404 as of 31 August 2026 — re-check before relying on it. Facts as verified 31 Aug 2026 in the linked source posts; this summary compiled 16 Sep 2026.