India’s AI push isn’t just data centres and GPUs. It also runs through 58 university-anchored research hubs, and hundreds of skilling labs in small-town India.
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India’s Four AI Centres of Excellence
One per sector, each anchored at a different institution
HealthcareAIIMS Delhi & IIT Delhi
AgricultureIIT Ropar
Sustainable CitiesIIT Kanpur
EducationIIT Madras (2025-26)
58AI CoEs approved
543Data & AI Labs
762Use cases identified
🏛️ Must Know
1. Scale and Structure
- Approved The Centre has approved 58 AI Centres of Excellence (CoEs) and 543 Data & AI Labs across India.
- Use Cases The IndiaAI Mission has identified 762 AI use cases, spread across 62 ministries.
2. The Four Centres of Excellence
- Original Three India’s original three AI-CoEs launched under the 2023-24 Budget, with a combined ₹990 crore outlay through FY28. They cover Healthcare (AIIMS Delhi & IIT Delhi), Agriculture (IIT Ropar), and Sustainable Cities (IIT Kanpur).
- Fourth: Education A fourth CoE, for Education, was announced in the Union Budget 2025-26. It carries a ₹500 crore outlay and is based at IIT Madras.
3. The Skilling Layer
- Data & AI Labs The 543 Data & AI Labs sit under the IndiaAI FutureSkills pillar. They train students in AI, data annotation, data curation, and applied data science, at ITIs and polytechnics in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.
Test Yourself
📰 Current Affairs
1. AI in School Curricula
- 5 Aug 2026 In a Rajya Sabha reply, the government detailed AI in school education. NCERT and CBSE have introduced a dedicated Computational Thinking and AI Curriculum, for Classes III to VIII, from 2026-27. (Source: Buddhist Times)
- Classes 9-12 A curriculum for Classes 9 to 12, in AI and allied subjects, has also been finalised. It builds logical reasoning, pattern recognition, and data literacy, alongside responsible AI use. (Source: Buddhist Times)
- SOAR Separately, the Skill Development Ministry launched SOAR (Skilling for AI Readiness). It offers students in Classes 6-12 three 15-hour modules, and teachers a 45-hour module. (Source: Buddhist Times)
- State Responsibility Since education sits on the Concurrent List, setting up AI and Robotics Laboratories in schools remains a State and Union Territory responsibility. (Source: Buddhist Times)
2. Latest Numbers (July 2026)
- 29 Jul 2026 Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada gave these figures in a written reply, submitted in the Lok Sabha. (Source: ANI)
- Tamil Nadu Share Of the 58 approved AI-CoEs, 2 have been allocated to Tamil Nadu. Of the 543 Data & AI Labs, 18 have been allocated to Tamil Nadu. (Source: ANI)
- Fellowships Under IndiaAI FutureSkills, 686 fellowships have been awarded nationally, across 178 institutions, funding AI education and research at undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral level. 162 of these went to Tamil Nadu students alone: 96 undergraduate, 34 postgraduate, and 32 PhD. (Source: ANI)
- Related See SciTech0041 — AI Infrastructure in India for the physical compute side of this buildout: data centres, GPUs, and private investment.
This is one piece of India’s wider education landscape. See GK0080 — Education in India for how school policy, higher-education oversight, and the new push to teach AI itself all fit together.
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