Union Minister Sharad Pawar and industrialist Gautam Adani jointly inaugurated the Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence at a high-profile event in India, emphasising the need for youth leadership in shaping the era of intelligence and technological innovation.

The new Centre aims to serve as a key innovation hub for AI research, skill development, and industry-academia collaboration. Designed to accelerate India’s capabilities in emerging technologies, the facility will provide access to cutting-edge resources that enable students, startups, and professionals to build advanced AI solutions with practical industry relevance.

Addressing the gathering, Sharad Pawar highlighted that India’s young talent pool must lead the global transition into the “Age of Intelligence.” He stressed that strategic investments in AI education and infrastructure will be critical to driving economic growth, global competitiveness, and societal benefit across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and manufacturing.

Gautam Adani, emphasizing the Centre’s role in nurturing innovation, said that building an AI-ready workforce is essential for India to capture future technology value chains and to foster widespread digital inclusion. He underscored industry’s responsibility to work closely with government and academic institutions to build real-world problem-solving capabilities grounded in AI and data sciences.

The Centre of Excellence is expected to catalyse collaborative research projects, offer specialised training programs, and host innovation challenges that bring together technologists, entrepreneurs, and policy makers. Its launch reinforces India’s commitment to becoming a global AI powerhouse by bridging the gap between skill development, enterprise adoption, and advanced research.