AI Centres of Excellence on agriculture, healthcare, sustainable cities launched
Union Minister for Education, Dharmendra Pradhan, has inaugurated three AI Centres of Excellence (CoE) in New Delhi. The Centres will work on agriculture, healthcare, and sustainable cities under the "Viksit Bharat" initiative. They will be run by leading educational institutions in collaboration with industry associates and start-ups. The goal is to promote interdisciplinary research, develop advanced AI applications, and create scalable solutions in these fields.
AI's potential in transforming healthcare
Srikanth Nadhamuni, Founder CTO Aadhaar and Co-founder and Chairman of Trustt, highlighted the transformative potential of AI in healthcare. He said, "AI has a huge potential in delivering healthcare to the poorest in our small towns and villages through our government hospitals." Nadhamuni proposed applying the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approach used for Aadhaar, to these AI Centres of Excellencee.
Apex Committee to oversee implementation of AI CoEs
An Apex Committee, co-chaired by Sridhar Vembu, Founder and CEO of Zoho Corporation, has been set up to oversee the establishment of these Centres. The committee includes K Sanjay Murthy, Secretary/HE, Heads of higher educational institutions (HEIs), Directors of IITs, industry leaders, start-up founders and senior officials from various ministries of the Government of India.
CoEs aim to strengthen India's AI ecosystem
The establishment of these Centres is part of a broader vision to "Make AI in India and Make AI work for India," announced under Para 60 of the Budget Announcement for 2023-24. The government has allocated a financial outlay of ₹990 crore over FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28 for this initiative. The aim is to enhance India's AI ecosystem and nurture top-tier talent in healthcare, agriculture, and sustainable cities.
