Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of Education, announced the creation of three AI Centers of Excellence (CoE) in New Delhi, focusing on sustainable cities, agriculture, and healthcare.
During his speech, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan expressed his desire that the three AI-CoEs would become centres of global public welfare. He went on to say that major steps have been taken to bolster Bharat’s standing in the international AI scene with the opening of the centres. According to Shri Pradhan, with the skill and energy that Bharat is endowed with, these CoEs will play a significant role in global public policy in the future and become global solution providers.
He expressed his gratitude to the supreme committee, headed by Shri Sridhar Vembu, for their careful and earnest work in putting these COEs in AI into practice at the nation’s best universities. He thanked Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his vision to make India a global hub for artificial intelligence. He added that these CoEs in AI will boost the nation’s startup ecosystem, help produce a new generation of job and wealth creators, and establish new paradigms for the common good on a global scale.
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Shri K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Sridhar Vembu, Founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation and Co-Chair of the Apex Committee; senior officials from various ministries of the Government of India; directors of IITs; heads of higher education institutions (HEIs); leaders in the industry and start-up founders were also in attendance.
In appreciation for their promises and cooperation, Shri Pradhan gave delegates from AIIMS, IIT Delhi, IIT Ropar, and IIT Kanpur—which will lead the CoEs—a sapling and a plaque. The appropriate Apex Committee members for AI-CoE Healthcare, Agriculture, and Sustainable Cities elucidated the projects’ scope and extent.
During his speech, Shri K. Sanjay Murthy emphasized that these CoEs are intended to benefit the entire nation and are not limited to specific institutions. He emphasized the value of multidisciplinary study and said that the best outcomes may be obtained through the proper kind of cooperation among resources that have similar interests. He pointed out that advancements in the solution of common issues have been secured by the competitive challenge techniques created in educational institutions. Additionally, he conveyed his appreciation to Shri Dharmendra Pradhan for his vision and leadership in seeing the project through to completion.
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Throughout his speech, Dr Sridhar Vembu emphasized how these initiatives will improve the nation’s population’s overall health as well as those of its cities and villages. To guarantee that its citizens prosper and serve the country in the ensuing ten to twenty years, he underlined the significance of developing the talent pool in the nation. He went on to say that the CoEs will produce chances for our talent pool, establish businesses, nurture people, and bootstrap several initiatives.
The AI-CoE’s origins, execution, and current state of development were discussed by Smt. Saumya Gupta, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education’s Department of Higher Education. During the ceremony, a short film with the theme “Make AI in India and Make Al work for India” was also screened.
These three CoEs for Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be led by eminent academic institutions in collaboration with businesses and startups to achieve the “Viksit Bharat” vision. In these three domains, they will carry out multidisciplinary research, design state-of-the-art applications, and produce scalable solutions. The objective of this endeavour is to cultivate top-notch human resources in these vital domains and stimulate an efficient AI ecosystem.
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Under Paragraph 60 of the Budget Announcement for 2023-2024, the development of these centres was announced as part of the ambition to “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India.” Accordingly, the government has sanctioned the establishment of the three AI Centers of Excellence, which will require an outlay of Rs. 990.00 crore in total between FY 2023–2024 and FY 2027–2028.
Dr. Sridhar Vembu and another industry heavyweight, the Apex Committee, have been formed to oversee the implementation of this program.
Click here to read the official release.
