Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo today chaired an extensive meeting with Nasscom to deliberate on the establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Jammu & Kashmir.
The meeting was attended by Secretary IT; CEO JaKeGA; Chief Innovations Officer, IIT Jammu; senior leadership from Nasscom including its Head and Director for AI; and other officers of the IT Department.
During the deliberations, the Chief Secretary stressed the need for close coordination among all stakeholders to ensure timely and effective operationalization of the CoE in the UT. He called for developing a clear and well-defined governance framework outlining roles, responsibilities, and collaborative mechanisms among participating institutions.
Emphasizing that the CoE should begin with a focused but ambitious roadmap, the Chief Secretary remarked that J&K possesses unique strengths, particularly in terms of rich datasets and diverse inputs, which can significantly contribute to the success of the initiative.
He highlighted the transformative potential of AI in sectors such as education, startup ecosystem development, governance, and planning. He also underscored the importance of leveraging AI to enhance technological self-reliance and reduce dependence on major global players.
Secretary IT, Dr. Piyush Singla, informed the meeting that a preliminary Detailed Project Report (DPR) has been prepared in consultation with IIT Jammu, aligned with MeitY’s guidelines for the CoE scheme. He stated that this DPR forms the foundational blueprint for establishing a Centre of Excellence tailored to the UT’s needs, in partnership with premier higher educational institutions and industry leaders.
Prof. N.T. Arvind, Chief Innovations Officer, IIT Jammu, emphasized that the upcoming CoE must be designed to serve real industrial requirements to ensure its long-term sustainability and to enable seamless translation of research from lab environments to market applications.
Representatives from Nasscom expressed their commitment to extending full technical support for the initiative. They offered assistance in setting up the required digital infrastructure, ensuring data readiness, providing skill development and capacity-building programmes, enabling private sector participation, scaling-up associated projects, and supporting monitoring and evaluation frameworks essential for the success of the CoE in J&K.