The AI-CoEs will be solution providers, according to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and would produce a new generation of job creators and wealth generators.
The Center announced the creation of three centers of excellence (CoE) for artificial intelligence (AI) in sustainable cities, agriculture, and healthcare on Tuesday, October 15, 2024. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Delhi and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi will head the CoE in healthcare, while the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Ropar, Punjab, will lead the CoE in agriculture. It is the responsibility of IIT Kanpur to develop CoE in sustainable cities. The CoEs will work with startups and industry.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan made the announcement of the move, stating that the AI-CoEs would be the generation that creates money and provides jobs. The establishment of AI-CoEs was suggested in the Union Budget for 2023–24, with a ₹990 crore cash outlay spread over 2023–24–2027–28. A large industry-led apex committee, co-chaired by Sridhar Vembu, had also been established to oversee its implementation.
Mr. Pradhan stated, "With the unveiling of the centers, significant strides have been taken to strengthen Bharat's credentials in the global AI landscape." He expressed the hope that the CoEs would become global solution providers as well as a crucial component of public policy worldwide. Dr. Vembu, who chaired the panel, expressed gratitude to them for their efforts in implementing the COEs in AI and stated that these institutions would further boost the nation's startup ecosystem, help produce a new generation of wealth and job creators, and establish new paradigms of global public good.
The CoEs will support multidisciplinary research with the correct kind of collaboration among like-minded resources, according to Union Higher Education Secretary K. Sanjay Murthy, and this could lead to reaching optimal results. He pointed out that the challenge techniques, which are competitive and created in educational institutions, have guaranteed progress in tackling common issues. According to Dr. Vembu, the nation's population, cities, and rural areas will all have better health as a result of these initiatives. "The CoEs will create businesses, nurture talent, bootstrap multiple efforts, and create opportunities for our talent pool," he said.