New Delhi will soon host three new AI Centres of Excellence (CoEs) that will focus on the transformation of Healthcare, Agriculture, and Sustainable Cities with advanced AI technologies. This was announced by Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan during an event held yesterday.
The event was attended by K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Department of Higher Education; Sridhar Vembu, Co-chair of the Apex Committee and Founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation; senior officials from various ministries from the Government of India, Directors of IITs and heads of higher education institutions, start-up founders and industry leaders.
Representatives of AIIMS, IIT Delhi, IIT Ropar, and IIT Kanpur, the institutions that will lead the CoEs, were presented with saplings and plaques by Dharmendra Pradhan. Addressing the attendees, Pradhan said that the centres are expected to become “temples of global public good,” guiding the world toward AI-powered solutions that benefit society. He further praised the talent and drive possessed by Bharat.
In line with the government’s vision of a “Viksit Bharat,” the CoEs will be supported by top academic institutions from the country in collaboration with startups and industry partners. The centres will conduct interdisciplinary research, build cutting-edge applications, and provide scalable solutions in healthcare, agriculture and sustainable cities.
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The initiative was first announced under Para 60 of the 2023-24 Budget and has now been officially greenlit with a financial outlay of ₹990 crore, covering the period from FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28. It aligns with the “Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India” campaign.
Murthy informed that the CoEs will serve the entire nation, and encouraged interdisciplinary research as he believes it can yield optimum results. Dr Vembu remarked that these projects will benefit villages, cities and the entire nation as they will create companies, nurture talent and generate more opportunities.
