Government of Karnataka And NASSCOM partnered to launch Centre of Excellence for Data Science in Bengaluru
NASSCOM also signed an MoU with Niti Aayog to collaboratively catalyse innovation in the field of AI
Bengaluru, July 5, 2018: Reiterating its commitment to nurture innovation in emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and leverage the power of Data Science with a vision to bring alive “Intelligence of Things”, National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) along with Government of Karnataka, today launched the Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CoE – DSAI), in Bengaluru. NASSCOM also signed an MoU with Niti Aayog to collaboratively foster applied research, accelerating adoption and ethics, privacy and security. With the aim to strengthen the country’s AI ecosystem, the CoE and MoU, both aim to serve as a platform for intelligence-sharing and technology collaboration between stakeholders to build collective capabilities for the industry and country in the cutting-edge areas artificial intelligence.
Supporting the government’s National Strategy for AI, NASSCOM will facilitate collaboration between NITI Aayog and CoEs and will include NITI Aayog as a knowledge partner. Also, leveraging their skilling platform FutureSkills, NASSCOM and Niti Aayog will together accelerate innovation and cultivate skilling in India.
The CoE initiative is a nationwide program on innovation focusing on solutions in Smart Manufacturing, Automotive, Healthcare, Agriculture, Energy, IoT, Banking & Financial Services, Retail, Telecom, and host of emerging technologies. NASSCOM has partnered with Intel and IBM as its founding members and technology advisors for augmenting and accelerating the Data Science & Artificial Intelligence ecosystem in the country. The centre was inaugurated by Mr. KJ George, Minister for Large & Medium Scale Industries, IT & BT, Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka, in the presence of other eminent dignitaries Mr. Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, IT,BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka, Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India and VP, Data Center Group, Intel Corporation, Nipun Mehrotra, Chief Digital Officer (CDO) for India/South Asia, IBM along with Debjani Ghosh, President NASSCOM and Rishad Premji, Chairman, NASSCOM.
The CoE-DSAI aims to support SMBs, by fast tracking their product development, provide market access to enterprises and assist them by co-creating programs along with other industry partners and start-ups to solve complex and real world business problems. CoE – DSAI will also work with Government & Enterprises to make available large data-sets for training model, create a technology platform (Cloud + On Premise) with requisite library of solutions and bring experts with deep knowledge of the business to provide mentorship along with sharing of best-practices. The centre will also partner with universities to develop and provide access to right skill & talent alongside showcasing these emerging businesses across various NASSCOM platforms.
The Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, a collaborative initiative will create a platform wherein stakeholders ranging from industry to academia can co-create digital solutions for Industry 4.0. NASSCOM will work with the industry and government to identify use cases for technology intervention, enable industry-oriented research, augment citizen-centric solutions, promote data-driven decision making, enhance academic capacities, and support appropriate skills building and talent development through the CoE.
About NASSCOM
NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPM industries in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 2100 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM’s member and associate member companies are broadly in the business of software development, software services, software products, consulting services, BPM services, e-commerce & web services, engineering services and animation and gaming. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 3.5 million professionals.
Annexure
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony Mr. KJ George, Hon’ble Minister Large & Medium Scale Industries, IT & BT, Science & Technology, Government of Karnataka said “Government of Karnataka aims to transform Karnataka’s economy leading the change through innovation; focusing on technology, productivity, healthy enterprises and better citizen services; while building robust and versatile technology capabilities, spearheading the way to new business opportunities.”
Sharing her thoughts, Ms. Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM, said, “Karnataka has led the IT revolution in India and has always been at the forefront of Science and Technology. The Karnataka government is also playing a significant role in fostering entrepreneurial spirit in the state. The Centre is the next logical step required to provide the right fillip to areas of Data Sciences and artificial intelligence and give a head start to, not just the state, but India as a destination to develop global product solutions. The vision behind the CoE is to act as a catalyst for developing the emerging technology startup ecosystem of the country as well as an accelerator of Data Science capabilities providing the concept and scale for industrial and societal needs. The CoE will also function as an enabler of funding, accelerating, mentoring and enterprise for the key emerging AI startups in the country.”
Anna Roy, Chairperson, Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP), NITI Aayog said, “As traditional roles reshape the contours of the Indian economy, the imperative skills are witnessing myriad changes with an increased demand for enhanced digital capabilities in the field of AI. As this this requirement grows, we are confident that our symbiotic relationship with NASSCOM will not only help upskill professionals, but also create employment prospects. The MoU we signed today is a momentous milestone in industry and government’s collaborative initiatives to build sustainable talent for the industry”
Mr. Gaurav Gupta, Principal Secretary, IT, BT and S&T, Government of Karnataka said “Karnataka believes that co-creation is the framework for innovation. The state has created a network of Centres of Excellence covering Internet of Things, Aerospace and Defence, Data Science & Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security etc. The State expects these Centres of Excellence to collaborate and co-create leading to development of emerging tech solutions, enterprises, resulting in economic prosperity to the State of Karnataka.”
Speaking on the collaboration, Nivruti Rai, country head of Intel India and vice president of the Data Center Group, Intel Corporation, said, “Intel is committed to accelerating technology creation and research in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Data Sciences. Our collaboration with the Government of Karnataka, NASSCOM, and the industry to set up the CoE aims to enable developers, researchers, and solutions providers in India to create relevant use cases and applications. These technologies will drive the data revolution of tomorrow, and we are focused on fostering a thriving ecosystem in India that can also serve the global market.”
Speaking on the occasion, Gaurav Sharma, Vice President, IBM India Software Labs & IBM India/South Asia Growth said ”We are delighted to partner with NASSCOM to establish the Center of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence which will enable the citizens to contribute to Digital Karnataka initiative. Artificial Intelligence, the vital driver for business transformation is an incremental journey. It is when right data and information architecture come together along with Machine Learning capabilities that game-changing insights are generated and further leveraged by organizations to deliver exponential outcomes. Start-ups, enterprise clients and university students can leverage the COE to co-create, co-innovate, and scale their ideas and skills using Data Science and Artificial Intelligence technology on IBM Cloud Platform.”