Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the budget 2025 on 1 Feb 2025; She announced ₹500 crore for Centres of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for education sector development.
“I had announced three Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023. Now, a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of 500 crore.” Nirmala Sitharaman, during her speech on budget 2025,
This initiative aims to improve how students learn and help them be ready for jobs in the future that will require technology skills. The government plans to develop tools using AI for students, support research on AI in education, and encourage partnerships between schools and companies.
Aparna Iyer, CFO of Wipro Limited, shared her views on the budget 2025, “With AI becoming an essential tool for a tech-powered economy, it is heartening to see the introduction of Centers of Excellence (COE) for Artificial Intelligence in education. To position India as a leader in the global AI race, it is imperative to prioritize 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. 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.”
Other programs that include AI are the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), which looks at the technology needs of different government departments, and research and development in IT, Electronics, and Cyber-Physical Technologies that use technology in new research projects.
By investing in technologies like AI for education, the government aims to make learning more accessible and personalized for students and, overall, to enhance learning experiences and administrative processes.
The Center of Excellence (CoE) is expected to drive innovation by creating AI-driven tools and applications tailored for educational development.
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