The Central Government has approved the establishment of 58 Artificial Intelligence Centres of Excellence (AI-CoE) and 543 Data and AI Labs. Meanwhile, the India AI Mission has identified 762 use cases (AI application scenarios) across 62 ministries and sectors. Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, provided this information in a written reply.
The Minister stated that a ‘studio’ on public service delivery was organized by IndiaAI in April. This initiative assisted various ministries and departments in compiling their data sets, identifying AI use cases, and formulating roadmaps for AI adoption in governance and public services.
He mentioned that under IndiaAI, a series of AI-based solutions are being developed for sectors such as health, agriculture, governance, climate change, cybersecurity, and finance; these are progressing from the consultation stage to pilot projects and, eventually, large-scale implementation.
The government has approved a plan to set up 58 AI Centres of Excellence in collaboration with states, Union Territories, and industry partners. Under this scheme, two such Centres of Excellence will be established in Tamil Nadu.
Additionally, approval has been granted to set up 543 Data and AI Labs in ITIs and polytechnics across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities in the country. These labs will provide training in areas such as artificial intelligence, data annotation, data curation, and applied data science. Plans for the installation of equipment in 18 of these labs are already underway.
The Minister also noted that fellowships for AI education and research are being offered to undergraduate students. So far, 686 fellowships have been awarded under the IndiaAI initiative. These include 162 students—comprising 96 undergraduates, 34 entrepreneurs, and 32 teenagers.
He also stated that the facility being established in the country will serve as a major hub for indigenous research and development focused on the safety of artificial creations. Its objective is to strengthen India’s technology and machinery sectors.
