Gujarat: CM Bhupendra Patel launches AI Center of Excellence in GiftCity

Gandhinagar (Gujarat) [India], January 27 : Launching the Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence at GiftCity here on Monday, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the AI center will emerge as an important think tank in the region
The center has become operational as a result of the MoU signed in June-2024 between the state government's Department of Science and Technology and Microsoft to develop AI in Gift City, a release said.
Not only this, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center will also provide enhanced support to both government and industry by delivering effective, timely service to citizens, fostering innovation at the grassroots level and accelerating technological advancements in various sectors including manufacturing, healthcare and education, the release said.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel noted that the center was commissioned in just six months.
In addition to the launch of the Center of Excellence, the Chief Minister also launched the Innovation Challenge and awarded 10 awards to MSMEs for IOT-led solution and early adoption of innovative solutions in startups.
The Chief Minister said that "we are continuously adding new innovations to the country's first financial tech city 'Gift City' which was built with the futuristic vision of Prime Minister Narendrabhai Modi."
The Chief Minister added that the AI Center of Excellence is a big step towards making Gujarat a hub of artificial intelligence and technology-based development.
This center will act as an important bridge between startups and industry and AI technology will complete the knowledge gap in the sector, the CM said.
The Chief Minister also highlighted that the government has formed the Gujarat AI Task Force to enhance governance by addressing challenges in health, agriculture, education, and industries through AI.
Apart from this, Chief Minister Patel also expressed confidence that an eco system will be created to bring experts, professionals and startups on a platform to create new solutions.
On this occasion, Chief Secretary Rajkumar said that it is a proud moment for Gujarat that AI Center of Excellence has been launched in Gujarat today.
He said that Gujarat has become the leading and guiding state in the entire country in adopting AI technology in every sector. The Internet came as a new technology resulting in the increasing digitization of the whole world... Similarly, the state government has laid a strong foundation of 'Developed Gujarat for Developed India' by adopting AI as an innovative technology.
Regarding AI technology, he said that Gujarat is established as a manufacturing hub in the entire country. Gujarat will also become the hub of AI technology in the future. By means of AI, the capacity of any government or organization is doubled and the development of the country and organization is also accelerated. That is why, Gujarat will promote AI technology in every field, including manufacturing in the coming days.
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology, and Mission Director of AI Mission, said, "In Gujarat, the AI Center of Excellence was established... Where more than 1 thousand small medium enterprises are using AI in manufacturing and around 300 start ups have been supported.
In addition, he said that through India AI Mission and Semiconductor Mission, Gujarat has become the leading state in Revolution in Semiconductor Technology.
GIFT City MD and CEO, Tapan Ray, highlighted the vision and infrastructure of GIFT City, stating that many leading companies from India and abroad are conducting business in sectors such as finance, banking, insurance, market research, fintech, aircraft leasing, and AI data centers within GIFT City. The 'AI Centre of Excellence,' launched today in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, Government of Gujarat, and global companies in the AI sector, enhances the vision of GIFT City.
Microsoft India and South Asia CEO Dr Rohini Srivatsa said that the Innovation Challenge has been inaugurated with the Center of Excellence today to provide AI -based real -time solutions to various real problems of industries and especially startups across the country, including Gujarat.
"Artificial Intelligence is not only technology but a transformative force for the Wide Spread Economy," said Ashank Desai, co-founder of Nascom and Chairman of Mastek. He said that AI is a very old technology, but in the last 5-6 years it has become widespread with computing power and modern software.
At the beginning of the program Mona Khandhar, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Government of Gujarat welcomed everyone and thanked all the participants for making the initiative of 'AI Center of Excellence' a success.
The inaugural ceremony featured presentations on topics such as AI-enabled healthcare for patients, quality control of food grains, the future of financial services, and seamless digital payments for smart investment strategies.
The Chief Minister visited the Experience Zone showcasing AI adoption in the health and agriculture sectors.
The ceremony discussed various topics such as AI in the digital transformation era, AI chatbot for the Digital Gujarat platform in the Innovation Spotlight, and AI ecosystems for startup, industry and academia in the digital transformation era.
Gujarat Informatics Ltd Tushar Bhatt, Managing Director, Project Director of the entire Shiksha Abhiyan, Lalit Narayan Sandhu, besides the officials from the Central Government and the Government of Gujarat, and entrepreneurs from various fields were present in the program.