Lok Sabha Question No. 2331 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Byreddy Shabari, Shri G Lakshminarayana, Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2331 ANSWERED ON- 15/12/2025

## Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence

2331.  Dr. Byreddy Shabari:

Shri G Lakshminarayana:

- Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the current status of establishment of the three Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial  Intelligence  (AI),  including  details  of  host  institutions,  locations,  funds sanctioned and timelines for operationalization;
- (b) the number and details of research projects, pilots or innovations sanctioned or approved so far under each CoE along with the objectives of each project;
- (c)  the  details  of  any  pilot  projects  or  AI  solutions  being  implemented  in  the  field through  these  CoEs,  including  location  of  implementation,  funding  provided  and current status of each pilot;
- (d) whether any proposals for new CoEs, additional funding, or industry-academia Collaborations  have  been  received  from  State  Governments,  including  Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, if so, the details thereof;
- (e)  the  objectives,  funding  structure  and  expected  outcomes  of  these  Centres  of Excellence, especially in promoting AI research, innovation, startup incubation and skill development;
- (f)  whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  need  to  establish  AI  Centres  of Excellence in educationally and economically backward districts to ensure inclusive technological growth and the steps taken in this regard; and
- (g) the measures proposed by the Government to ensure that these AI Centres of Excellence  contribute  to  employment  generation,  curriculum  modernization  and capacity-building in States like Tamil Nadu?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

- (a)  to  (g): The  Government  of  India  has  established  three  Centres  of  Excellence (CoEs) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) as part of the vision to "Make AI in India and Make AI work for India" in the areas of healthcare, sustainable cities and agriculture following the announcement in the Union Budget 2023-24. These AI-CoEs are being led by IISc

Bangalore, IIT Kanpur and IIT Ropar respectively. The total budget outlay for the three AI-CoEs is 990 crores. To further this Vision, in the Union Budget 2025-26, a new Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Education was announced with a total outlay of Rs. 500 Cr which has been established at IIT Madras. Each AI-CoE is a consortium of leading academic, research institutions along with  industry  partners  and  startups  etc.  AI-CoEs  represent  a  collaborative  effort between the lead institute and other academic institutions such as AIIMS Delhi and Patna,  IITs  at  Delhi,  Madras,  Bombay,  Guwahati,  Hyderabad,  Gandhinagar  and Tirupati; NITs at Calicut, Meghalaya, and Hamirpur; IIIT Hyderabad; etc. These CoEs have undertaken strategic initiatives aligned with their  sectoral focus. The AI-CoE for Sustainable Cities has initiated clean-air monitoring in Delhi and AI-based  traffic  and  flood  prediction  for  Surat.  Further,  a  Digital  Nagar  Palika governance platform has been piloted in Kanpur to streamline municipal services and to  integrate  citizen  feedback,  service  requests,  and  urban  management  into  one system. Under the AI-CoE for Healthcare, projects have been initiated to develop AI tools on the detection of various chronic diseases like oral and breast cancer, retinal disease and diabetes. The AI-CoE for Agriculture has deployed Automatic Weather

Stations.

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