Gujarat Gets 37 AI Labs, 2 Centres Of Excellence

The IndiaAI Mission has given Gujarat a massive artificial intelligence boost with the establishment of 37 Data & AI Labs in technical education institutes across the state.

The labs will be set up in 20 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and 17 Polytechnics, with the aim of strengthening artificial intelligence education and workforce development in Gujarat.

According to Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Jitin Prasada, the Data & AI Labs will provide training in artificial intelligence, data annotation, data curation, and applied data science.

The initiative is intended to equip students with industry-relevant AI skills and help build a skilled AI workforce.

In addition to the Data & AI Labs, Gujarat has been allocated two Artificial Intelligence Centres of Excellence (AI-CoEs) under the 'IndiaAI Startup Financing' pillar.

These centres are expected to strengthen the state's AI innovation ecosystem and provide focused support to startups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and academic institutions.

Under the 'IndiaAI Fellowship' programme, Gujarat has been awarded 23 fellowships to support AI research, including four undergraduate, 12 postgraduate, and seven PhD research fellowships.

The 'IndiaAI Compute' pillar provides subsidised access to high-performance Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) computing at an average rate of around Rs 65 per GPU-hour through 15 empanelled Compute Service Providers.

In Gujarat, subsidised access to high-end GPU computing has been allocated to Gujarat Informatics Limited (GIL) and the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Amul).

The IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Central government on March 7, 2024, has a total outlay of Rs 10,371.92 crore over five years and is being implemented through seven pillars.

The mission aims to build on India's information technology sector, which generates annual revenue of about USD 300 billion and employs around 60 lakh people.

The IndiaAI Mission has launched 11 national-level hackathons and innovation challenges under the IADI pillar to promote AI innovation and development in the country.

This initiative is expected to have a significant impact on the development of artificial intelligence in Gujarat and India as a whole.

With the establishment of these AI labs and centres of excellence, Gujarat is poised to become a hub for AI innovation and development, providing opportunities for students, startups, and enterprises to develop and apply AI skills and technologies.