New Delhi, Feb 2: With artificial intelligence (AI) becoming an essential tool for a tech-powered economy, it is heartening to see the introduction of Centres of Excellence (COE) for Artificial Intelligence in education, industry leaders said on Sunday.

Aligning with India's broader vision to become a global AI hub, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced the creation of three Centres of Excellence (CoEs) in AI for education with a budget allocation of Rs 500 crore.

“To position India as a leader in the global AI race, it is imperative to prioritise investment in STEM talent. We also have the digital infrastructure, and the talent pool required to cultivate a thriving startup ecosystem capable of propelling innovation,” said Aparna Iyer, CFO, Wipro Limited.

To unleash this potential, it is also important to offer financial support and streamline the process of conducting business to bolster the startup community. The Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) will provide the impetus to boost this ecosystem, she mentioned.

According to Atul Soneja, Chief Operating Officer, Tech Mahindra, the Budget's forward-looking focus on deep-tech innovations like AI, global capability centres (GCCs), and future-ready talent underscores a strong commitment towards “Viksit Bharat.”

“The other initiatives like Deeptech Fund of Funds and 10,000 fellowships for tech research, 5 National CoEs and a CoE for AI in Education, reiterate our commitment to developing an ecosystem for next-gen tech,” he noted.

According to the government, these new AI Centres of Excellence will work on advanced research, the development of AI learning tools, and foster collaboration between educational institutions and industries. The goal is to equip students with the skills they need to thrive in the future.

Chocko Valliappa, Founder and CEO of Vee Technologies, said the Finance Minister’s announcement for setting up a Centre for Excellence in AI for the education sector deserves to be raised to create novel technologies for the rapid reskilling of manpower that may find itself out of jobs due to the integration of AI in various workplaces.

“In keeping with the FM's focus on AI and research, I believe that technical higher education institutions in the private sector demonstrating excellence in new technologies, AI, robotics and Data Sciences are granted autonomous or central university status in a fast-track mode nationwide,” he said.

This will also help enhance capacity building in novel technologies at a much lower cost to the nation compared to what it will cost to add the 6,500 more engineering seats in the IITs, as announced in the budget speech.

According to Anjani Kumar, Partner, Deloitte India, the investment in setting up AI CoE for education is a critical step towards government’s ongoing efforts in leveraging AI for societal development.

“This investment comes on the heels of the Rs 990 crore investment announced in October last year in establishing AI CoEs for agriculture, healthcare, and sustainability. The capacity building in these four key areas provides India an opportunity to unlock new possibilities to position itself as a global powerhouse in AI,” Kumar emphasised.

—IANS

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