CBSE Class 10 · Skill subjects · Artificial Intelligence 417 and Information Technology 402 · 2026-27

AI 417 vs IT 402: what each Class 10 skill subject actually asks of a student.

Choosing between AI 417 vs IT 402 is easier once you see both 2026-27 CBSE curricula on one page. They share a mark split, a two-hour theory paper and even the same Part A units. Where they part ways is the work itself: AI asks for concepts, small calculations and Python, while IT asks for careful, step-by-step work in office software and a database. This page lays both out, then gives a checklist. We teach the 417 course, so we say plainly where IT is the better fit.

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Live online · compared from both official 2026-27 curricula · neutral checklist below · 417 batch Monday and Wednesday · first class free

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Courses for a student who picks AI 417

If the checklist below points to AI, these are the three courses that carry a Class 10 student through it: the 417 board course itself, Python for the practical file, and Orange for the no-code unit.

CBSE Computational Thinking and AI for Teens course thumbnail

The batch / 417 Class 10

CBSE AI for Class 9 to 12

Every 417 unit taught in order, the evaluation numericals practised until steady, and the practical file, project and viva prepared alongside.

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Python for Teens course thumbnail

Practical file / Python

Python for Teens

For a student new to code: lists, NumPy, Matplotlib and reading a CSV file, the exact programs the 417 practical exam and file are built from.

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Visual Machine Learning with Orange for Teens course thumbnail

Unit 4 / Orange

Visual ML with Orange

The no-code tool CBSE names for the Statistical Data unit and the computer vision and NLP case studies, learned hands-on rather than from screenshots.

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Ans. The short version

AI 417 vs IT 402: both are CBSE Class 10 skill subjects worth 100 marks, 50 theory in a two-hour paper and 50 practical, and in the 2025-26 sample papers the theory papers had the same shape. The difference is the content. AI 417 covers the AI project cycle, ethics, modeling, model evaluation with calculations, computer vision and NLP, with Python and Orange in the practical. IT 402 covers LibreOffice Writer, Calc and Base plus workplace health and safety. Pick AI for concepts and coding, IT for software procedures. Modern Age Coders teaches 417 live, Monday and Wednesday 9:00 PM IST, or personalised one to one.

Q1. What is the difference between AI 417 and IT 402?

AI 417 vs IT 402 side by side, from the 2026-27 CBSE curricula

AI 417 teaches how AI systems are planned, built and judged, with Python as the practical tool; IT 402 teaches advanced use of a word processor, a spreadsheet and a database, framed around the job of a data entry operator. Both start from the same five employability units.

Point of comparisonArtificial Intelligence (417)Information Technology (402)
Total marks100: theory 50, practical 50100: theory 50, practical 50
Part A, employability skills10 marks, 2 per unit10 marks: Communication 2, Self-Management 3, ICT 1, Entrepreneurial 3, Green 1
Part B, the subject itself40 marks across five theory units40 marks across four units
Hours suggested by CBSE210 in all; Part B 80 theory and 80 practical200 in all; Part B 60 theory and 90 practical
SoftwarePython in Jupyter Notebook, NumPy, Matplotlib, CSV files, Orange Data Mining, Teachable MachineLibreOffice Writer, Calc and Base
Coding needed?Yes, basic Python, assessed in the practicalNo separate programming language, but the Calc unit includes recording and writing simple macros, a light taste of code
Calculations in the theory paperYes: accuracy, precision, recall, F1 score and similarSpreadsheet formulas and what-if tools, no statistics formulas
Job role named in the curriculumNone; the aim is AI readiness and responsible useDomestic Data Entry Operator

AI 417, Part B units and marks

UnitTheory marks
1. Revisiting AI Project Cycle and Ethical Frameworks for AI7
2. Advanced Concepts of Modeling in AI11
3. Evaluating Models10
4. Statistical Datapractical only
5. Computer Vision4
6. Natural Language Processing8
7. Advance Pythonpractical only
Part B theory40

IT 402, Part B units and marks

UnitTheory marks
1. Digital Documentation (Advanced), LibreOffice Writer8
2. Electronic Spreadsheet (Advanced), LibreOffice Calc10
3. Database Management System, LibreOffice Base12
4. Maintain Healthy, Safe and Secure Working Environment10
Part B theory40

One contents line of the 402 PDF still names Unit 4 "Web Applications and Security", an older title. Its scheme table and chapters 13 to 15 are the health, safety and emergencies unit shown here, so check which version a guide book follows.

Every AI unit, with what each one really asks, is unpacked on the 417 syllabus explained. The Part A units that both subjects share are covered on Part A employability skills, and that page serves an IT student just as well.

Q2. Is the board paper different?

The theory paper: same shape for AI and IT, different questions

The shape is the same. The 2025-26 sample papers for 417 and 402 both run for two hours, carry 50 marks and offer the same choice in every block, so neither subject has an easier format. What fills the blocks is what differs.

Block in the 2025-26 sample paperPrinted, answeredMarksTypical AI 417 itemTypical IT 402 item
Part A one-mark6, any 44Identical topics: communication, self-management, ICT, entrepreneurship, green skills
Part A two-mark5, any 36Short answers on the same five employability units
Part B one-mark24, any 2020Which stage of the project cycle, which learning type, compute a precisionWhich menu holds Goal Seek, what a primary key does, which style category applies
Part B two-mark6, any 48Define a term, tell two ideas apart, a short count of pixels or tokensSteps to insert a table of contents, difference between a form and a report
Part B four-mark5, any 312A case study, a confusion matrix with all four metrics, an ethics dilemmaWrite a query or explain relationships between tables, a workplace safety scenario
Theory paper50Two hours, both subjects

Objective marks match

24 of the 50 theory marks are one-mark items in both papers, 4 from Part A and 20 from Part B, so a student who is careful with objective questions benefits equally in either subject.

AI asks you to calculate

Evaluating Models alone carries 10 marks, and its questions often hand you a confusion matrix and ask for a metric. That is arithmetic, done under time, with a formula you must remember.

IT asks you to recall steps

Many 402 questions name a task and ask which menu, tool or sequence of clicks does it. The work is precise memory of the software, which sticks only when each task is actually done on a computer.

Checked 6 November 2026: the skill-subject sample papers on cbseacademic.nic.in are still the 2025-26 ones for both 417 and 402. In the 2026 board exams, AI 417, IT 402 and Computer Applications 165 were all set on Friday 27 February, 10:30 AM to 12:30 PM, so a student sits one of them. The 2027 date sheet is not out; the AI blueprint in full is on the 417 exam date and paper pattern page.

Q3. Which has the heavier practical?

Practical load in AI 417 and IT 402: where the other 50 marks come from

Both practicals are worth 50 marks, but they are built differently. AI puts more weight on a written file of programs; IT puts more on a hands-on test in the three LibreOffice tools and a longer viva.

AI 417 practical, 50 marks

Practical file, at least 15 programs15
Practical examination: Statistical Data, Computer Vision, NLP, Advance Python15
Viva voce5
Project work, field visit or student portfolio (any one)10
Viva on the project5
Practical50

IT 402 practical, 50 marks

Practical exam in Writer5
Practical exam in Calc5
Practical exam in Base10
Viva voce10
Project: a real-world case study, data entered through Base forms, output as Base reports, write-up in Writer10
Portfolio or practical file, at least 5 problems each in Writer, Calc and Base10
Practical50

What the AI practical feels like

  • Code that must run. Programs such as adding two lists, mean, median and mode with NumPy, a line chart and a scatter chart, reading a CSV file.
  • Two theory-free units. Statistical Data and Advance Python are never in the written paper, only here.
  • A no-code tool too. Orange Data Mining appears for data, and Teachable Machine for image models.
  • Ten viva marks in all, split between the practical and the project.

What the IT practical feels like

  • Base carries the most. Tables, primary keys, queries, forms and reports earn 10 exam marks and run through the project as well.
  • Precision over invention. Styles, a table of contents, track changes, Scenarios, Goal Seek, linked sheets: each has a right sequence.
  • Fifteen problems minimum across the three tools for the portfolio.
  • A ten-mark viva on its own, twice the AI practical viva.

A 15-program file for AI, with what each program prints, is on the 417 project and practical file page, and the code behind it is walked through on Python for CBSE Class 10 AI. CBSE itself lists eight suggested programs; any 15-program list is a teacher's choice, ours included.

Q4. Is AI tougher than IT?

Is AI tougher than IT, and which is the easier skill subject in Class 10?

Neither is easier for everyone, because the two papers test different habits. AI 417 is harder for a student who dislikes formulas and new code; IT 402 is harder for a student who finds long sequences of menu steps dull and hard to keep straight. CBSE does not publish subject-wise averages for skill subjects, so any claim that one "scores more" is opinion.

Where marks are usually lostIn AI 417In IT 402
CalculationsSwapping false positives and false negatives; averaging precision and recall instead of using the F1 formulaRare: a formula in a cell, or reading a Goal Seek result
Close definitionsClassification against regression, clustering against association, stemming against lemmatisationForm against report, query against filter, primary key against foreign key
Long answersCase studies that need the right ethical framework or project-cycle stage namedStep lists written out of order, missing one click
PracticalA program that errors on the day, or a file with programs nobody can explain in the vivaA Base query that returns the wrong rows, or a project report with no form behind it
RevisionFive theory units of concepts; two units only in the practicalFour units, three of them software you must open and use to remember

A two-minute taste of each

An AI 417 style itemUnit 3
A plant-disease model checks 100 leaves.
TP = 30, FP = 10, FN = 20, TN = 40.

Precision = 30 / (30 + 10) = 0.75
Recall    = 30 / (30 + 20) = 0.60
F1 = 2 x 0.75 x 0.60 / (0.75 + 0.60)
   = 0.90 / 1.35 = 0.67 (2 d.p.)
Accuracy  = (30 + 40) / 100 = 0.70

If this felt satisfying, AI suits you. Every figure was rechecked with Python.

An IT 402 style itemUnit 2
Marks in B2 come from the formula
=B1*0.4+60 (B1 = practice tests).
You need B2 to reach 90.

Tools > Goal Seek
  Formula cell : B2
  Target value : 90
  Variable cell: B1
Result: B1 = 75

If you could follow each click, IT suits you. (90 - 60) / 0.4 = 75.

More AI numericals of the left-hand kind, graded from one mark to four, are on confusion matrix numericals for Class 10 AI. If you are also weighing CBSE Computer Applications, the three-way view is on AI, IT or Computer Applications.

Q5. Which is better for my child?

Which is better, AI or IT, in Class 10: a decision checklist

The better subject is the one your child will study steadily for two years, because Classes 9 and 10 form one composite course and CBSE asks students to take in Class 9 only the subjects they will continue in Class 10. Tick the statements that are true, then count.

Lean towards AI 417 if

  • They enjoy a short calculation and want to know why an answer is right.
  • They are curious about how apps recognise faces, voices or spam.
  • They would like to start Python now rather than in Class 11.
  • They are thinking of Computer Science, Informatics Practices or AI in Class 11.
  • They can write a clear paragraph on an ethical question.
  • The school runs a working Python lab, or you can arrange practice at home.

Lean towards IT 402 if

  • They like neat documents, tidy spreadsheets and getting a task exactly right.
  • They prefer learning by doing in software over reading about ideas.
  • Formulas and code make them anxious this year.
  • They want office and database skills they can use straight away.
  • The school's lab has LibreOffice set up and an IT teacher with spare lab time.
  • They would rather revise four units than five.

  1. Ask the school what it actually offers

    Not every school runs both. Ask which skill subjects have a teacher and a lab this session, and how the timetable fits.

  2. Look at one chapter of each together

    Open a unit of each curriculum with your child for ten minutes. Their reaction is better evidence than any ranking.

  3. Decide in Class 9 and stay

    Switching in Class 10 means catching up a year of a new subject, practicals included, so make the call early.

  4. Plan the practical from day one

    Half the marks in either subject are practical. Start the file or portfolio in the first term, not in January.

About 2028: press reports in October 2026 describe a changed Class 10 scheme for students who are in Class 9 in 2026-27 and sit the board in 2028, with skill subjects such as AI and IT kept as options. That is reported, not yet notified subject by subject, so we promise nothing about it; the school's circular is the document to go by.

Q6. What do they lead to, and how is AI taught here?

Where AI 417 and IT 402 lead after Class 10, and how we teach 417

Each subject has a direct Class 11 and 12 continuation in CBSE: Artificial Intelligence (843) after 417, Information Technology (802) after 402. Neither is a formal entry rule for Computer Science or Informatics Practices; schools set their own criteria for those.

After AI 417

Python habits, a feel for data and models, and words like precision, recall and bias that turn up again in Class 11 AI, Computer Science and Informatics Practices.

After IT 402

Confident use of documents, spreadsheets and databases, the base for Class 11 IT and for any course where data is kept in tables and reports.

For both

The Part A employability units, the habit of a practical file, and a viva. A Class 10 skill subject does not lock any stream in Class 11.

If you choose AI: what our live 417 classes cover

Our Class 10 board batch is for AI 417 only; we do not run an IT 402 batch. Theory is taught on Mondays at 9:00 PM IST, in the order the paper rewards, and Wednesdays at the same hour are for Python, Orange and the practical file. Evaluating Models gets repeated timed numerical sets until the formulas stop slipping. Each student builds the file program by program, rehearses the viva with a teacher asking follow-up questions, and from December sits full mock papers marked against the scheme on screen. There is open doubt time in every class.

The batch itself, with the term plan, is on CBSE Class 10 AI classes online.

Batch or personalised: you choose

Chose AI 417? Study it in the Monday and Wednesday batch, or one to one

Both formats follow the same 417 syllabus with the same teachers. The batch keeps a steady weekly rhythm alongside other Class 10 AI students; one to one lets a student who joined late, or who finds Python new, catch up at their own pace. Monthly billing, no admission fee.

Option 1 · Fixed batch timings

Group batch, Monday and Wednesday 9 PM

₹1,499

per month, two live classes a week

  • Monday and Wednesday, 9:00 PM IST, live on video
  • Fifteen to twenty Class 10 AI students, one teacher
  • Theory on Monday, Python and practicals on Wednesday
  • Practical file built program by program
  • Viva rehearsal and full mocks from December
Book a free demo in this batch

Option 2 · Choose your own timing

Personalised one to one

₹4,999

per month, one private class a week, at a time set with you

  • Days and times you set, in your own time zone
  • Python from the first line for a student new to code
  • Extra numerical drills for Evaluating Models
  • Catch-up plan for a student who switched to AI late
  • Same CBSE 417 syllabus and teachers
Ask for a personalised plan

A student who chose AI in Class 9 and kept up usually does well in the batch. A student who is moving into AI from IT, or who has not yet written a line of Python, often starts with a few one to one sessions and joins the batch once level. Fees appear in your own currency.

Studying outside India?

AI 417 or IT 402 at a CBSE school abroad

CBSE schools in the Gulf, Africa and Asia offer the same skill subjects, set the same papers and follow the same curricula, though not every school runs both. If your child picked AI, here is when the 9:00 PM IST batch falls locally.

Where you liveMon and Wed 9:00 PM ISTBest format
India (IST)
every Indian city		9:00 PMBatch fits
UAE and Oman
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Muscat		7:30 PMBatch fits
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain
Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam, Doha, Kuwait City, Manama		6:30 PMBatch fits
Nepal
Kathmandu		9:15 PMBatch fits
Ethiopia and East Africa
Addis Ababa and East Africa Time		6:30 PMBatch fits
Singapore and Malaysia
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur		11:30 PMChoose 1-on-1

Where the batch hour is too late, one to one runs at a time that suits your evening. Families abroad will find more on CBSE Class 10 AI online classes in the Gulf and abroad.

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The rest of the Class 10 series

More pages for Class 10 board students

Every page in the CBSE Class 10 AI (417) series, grouped by what you need: classes, each unit, question practice, notes and revision, and the exam itself.

Classes, tuition and batches

Unit by unit

Questions and practice

Notes and revision

Exam, marks and practicals

Choosing the subject

ICSE Class 10 Computer Applications (Java): The Tue and Wed ICSE Java batch ICSE Computer Applications syllabus ICSE Java programs practice ICSE CA important questions

Questions about AI 417 and IT 402

What parents and students ask about AI 417 vs IT 402

Which is better, AI or IT, in Class 10?

Neither is better in general. AI 417 suits a student who likes concepts, short calculations and learning Python; IT 402 suits one who prefers precise, hands-on work in a word processor, spreadsheet and database. Both carry 100 marks, split 50 theory and 50 practical, and both continue into Class 11 and 12 skill subjects. Choose by your child's habits and by what the school actually teaches well.

Is AI tougher than IT in CBSE Class 10?

AI is tougher for students who dislike formulas or code, because its theory paper includes evaluation numericals and its practical needs Python programs that run. IT is tougher for students who struggle to remember exact software steps, because many of its questions ask which menu or tool does a task. The papers themselves have the same shape and the same marks.

Which is the easier skill subject in Class 10?

There is no official answer, and CBSE does not publish subject-wise averages for skill subjects. A student comfortable with computers but not with maths often finds IT easier; a student who enjoys logic and wants to code often finds AI easier. The practical is 50 marks in both, so steady practical work matters more than which subject you pick.

What is the syllabus difference between 417 and 402?

Both share Part A employability skills for 10 marks. In Part B, AI 417 covers the AI project cycle and ethics, modeling, evaluating models, computer vision and NLP in theory, with statistical data and Python in the practical. IT 402 covers LibreOffice Writer, Calc and Base, plus a unit on keeping a workplace healthy, safe and secure.

Does AI 417 need coding?

Yes, at a basic level. The 2026-27 curriculum includes an Advance Python unit, assessed only in the practical, and the practical file needs at least 15 programs, such as finding the mean, median and mode with NumPy, drawing charts with Matplotlib and reading a CSV file. No coding is asked in the written theory paper beyond reading simple output.

Can I take both AI 417 and IT 402?

In practice, a student takes one. In the 2026 board exams, AI 417, IT 402 and Computer Applications 165 were set in the same slot on the same day, so they could not all be sat. The 2026-27 scheme also says only one of 165 and 402 can be offered. Ask the school which skill subjects it runs before deciding.

Can I change from IT to AI in Class 10?

CBSE treats Classes 9 and 10 as one composite course and asks students to take in Class 9 only the subjects they will continue in Class 10. Some schools allow a change at the start of Class 10, but the student then has a year of new theory and a full practical to make up. Ask the school first, and plan catch-up classes if it agrees.

Which is better for a future in computer science?

AI 417 gives a head start in Python and in ideas that reappear in Class 11 Computer Science, Informatics Practices and AI. IT 402 gives strong database and spreadsheet skills. Neither is a formal requirement for Class 11 Computer Science; schools set their own admission criteria, often based on overall and maths marks.

Which software is used in IT 402 and in AI 417?

IT 402 uses LibreOffice Writer, Calc and Base throughout, including styles, Goal Seek, Scenarios, macros, queries, forms and reports. AI 417 names Python in Jupyter Notebook with NumPy and Matplotlib, CSV files, the no-code Orange Data Mining tool and Google's Teachable Machine, which runs in a browser.

Do you teach IT 402 as well?

No. Our Class 10 board batch is for AI 417 only, on Mondays and Wednesdays at 9:00 PM IST, with personalised one to one at a time the family chooses. If the checklist on this page points to IT, we would rather say so plainly than suggest a subject your child is less suited to.

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Still deciding? Sit one free AI class first

The free first class is a normal 417 lesson: a short piece of theory, a confusion matrix to work out, and a few lines of Python run on screen. Many families use it to test the choice before the school deadline. Afterwards the mentor tells you honestly whether AI looks like a good fit for your child, and if it does, whether the batch or one to one makes more sense.

Want the full list of what AI covers first? Read the 417 syllabus explained.

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