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 Class 9: under Circular Acad-70/2026 (29 October 2026), 417 is one of 22 skill subjects a Class 9 student can choose for the compulsory Vocational Education area, with a board exam in Class 10 in 2027-28, while the Class 10 batch that started 417 in 2025-26 continues.

Every row above is quoted from the CBSE circulars and curriculum documents linked at the foot of this page · 417 and CT & AI rows last verified 3 November 2026 against the PDFs; 843 rows as verified 31 Aug 2026 in the linked syllabus posts.

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 not a compulsory subject. 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, twice. In April, CBSE Circular Acad-18/2026 (9 April 2026) said: “All other courses on AI being run till the session 2025-26 are being discontinued for class IX, session 2026-27 onwards.” On 29 October, Circular Acad-70/2026 set the scheme for students in Class IX in 2026-27: Vocational Education is compulsory, met by “Kaushal Vikas” (assessed by the school) or “any one of the 22 Skill Subjects”, and its Annexure-I lists 417 Artificial Intelligence. A skill subject carries “the Board Examination in the respective skill subject in Class X (2027-28)”. So 417 is open to this Class 9 batch as one choice. For the class above, Acad-18/2026 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 answer, with the circular quotes, 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 not confirmed

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.

For Class 9 there is a plan but no confirmation. The Secondary Curriculum footnote reads “CT & AI as a compulsory subject in session 2027-28”, with “details will be informed in due course”. Acad-70/2026 then took the CT & AI modules out of the current Class 9 batch’s curriculum and says nothing about the 2027-28 batch. As of 3 November 2026, no circular we have found confirms CT & AI as a compulsory Class 9 subject in 2027-28.

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.

What Acad-70 settled, and the conflict still open

Until October this page listed two conflicts between documents CBSE itself published. Acad-70/2026 settles the first for the current Class 9 batch; the second is still open for the other classes. We report them as they stand rather than picking the convenient date.

• Class 9 AI (417): settled for the current batch. Acad-18/2026 (9 April) said AI courses were being discontinued for Class IX from 2026-27, while CBSE kept the 2026-27 Class IX 417 syllabus posted. Acad-70/2026 (29 October) lists 417 Artificial Intelligence among the 22 skill subjects for students in Class IX in 2026-27, so for this batch it is available.
• CT & AI modules for Classes 9-12, which session? Still open, except for the current Class 9 batch. Acad-70/2026 says the modules are not part of that batch’s curriculum. For the other classes, 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: for the current Class 9 batch, plan from Acad-70/2026’s list of 22 skill subjects. For anything it does not cover, such as the 2027-28 Class 9 batch, wait for a CBSE circular and treat any single-date summary — including the ones that quote us — with suspicion.

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

For an existing CBSE school, four AI tracks can be live at once: the 843 elective in Classes 11-12, the continuing Class 10 batch of 417, 417 as one of the 22 skill subjects for the Class 9 batch (Acad-70/2026), and CT & AI rolling up from Classes 3-8. All of them 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-70/2026 — 29 October 2026: the Class IX 2026-27 scheme of studies (no CT & AI modules; Vocational Education compulsory; 417 among the 22 skill subjects, board-examined in Class X 2027-28).
• CBSE Circular Acad-15/2026 — 1 April 2026: the CT & AI curriculum for Classes III-VIII.
• CBSE Circular Acad-18/2026 — 9 April 2026: the Class IX line that Acad-70 replaced for the current batch, the Class X continuation and the CT & AI resource books for Classes 3-8.
• Secondary Curriculum Part 1, 2026-27 — the footnote planning CT & AI as a compulsory subject in session 2027-28 (not confirmed by any circular as of 3 November 2026).
• 417-AI-IX.pdf and 417-AI-X.pdf — the 2026-27 Class IX and Class X syllabi for code 417.
• 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.

The circulars, the Secondary Curriculum and the 417 syllabi were last verified 3 November 2026. The 843 facts are as verified 31 Aug 2026 in the linked syllabus posts; this summary was first compiled 16 Sep 2026.