PM Modi Launches India’s First AI Research Institute for Social Good

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI) in Mumbai on Monday, which is said to be the first research institute in India that is dedicated towards finding artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for social good, reported Economic Times.

The project will not just be a first for India but the world as well.

A sum of $30 million has been committed to the institute in the first 10 years. The Maharashtra government will help the institute identify problems, and test and scale the solutions.

The institute will focus on researching ways to harness the power of AI to solve deep rooted problems in healthcare, education, agriculture, and infrastructure to accelerate social development.

Wadhwani AI is an initiative of two NRI billionaires -- Sunil Wadhwani and Romesh Wadhwani. Sunil is a Pennsylvania-based co-founder and co-chairman of Mastech Digital, Inc. while Ramesh is a founder of California-based Symphony Technology and was named as one of the richest men in the US in 2016.

"Wadhwani AI is a prime example of how the public sector and the private sector can come together with good intentions to build a world-class institute, aimed at benefiting the poor," said Prime Minister Narendra Modi while inaugurating the institute.

Wadhwani AI is partnering with the government of Maharashtra for its mission to create AI solutions for social impact. The Maharashtra government will help the institute identify problems, and test and scale the solutions.

Through its partnership with Mumbai University and other institutions, Wadhwani AI aims to create a talent ecosystem in AI and Data Science.

It may be recalled that last week Maharashtra govt. has also announced to bring India’s first artificial intelligence centre in alliance with Canadian government.

Few days back, tech giant Adobe has also announced to establish an AI Lab in Hyderabad.

Yesterday, Telangana state government has also announced that it will establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in Hyderabad, in association with IT industry's apex body NASSCOM.

Recently, India’s IT ministry has also constituted four committees to thoroughly study on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence for citizen-centric use.

Last July, Karnataka state government had too announced that it will set up a Centre of Excellence for data science and artificial intelligence along with Nasscom as its programme and implementation partner.

In September 2017, Karnataka state government had too announced that Bengaluru will soon have India’s first multi-faceted artificial intelligence and robotics centre to established in IIIT-Bengaluru campus.

Wadhwani Foundation Launches India’s First Global Network for Entrepreneurs and Startup Needs

Wadhwani Foundation’s flagship initiative, the National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN) today announced the launch of India’s first-ever Global Network for Entrepreneurs at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit, GES 2017 in Hyderabad International Convention Centre. Dr Ajay Kela, President & CEO, Wadhwani Foundation made the announcement.

Entrepreneurs are not born and paths to success in entrepreneurship are not necessarily akin. What makes a critical difference in the entrepreneurial journey is the expert guidance, support, and inspiration to avoid pitfalls and enable the elusive quantum leap. With an aim to accelerate the entrepreneurial journey, the ‘Wadhwani Global Network for Entrepreneurs’ is unique in a two-fold manner. Firstly, its support mechanism covers the different stages of entrepreneurship from early growth to growth stage entrepreneurs to SMEs and secondly, it has customized offerings for various levels of the entrepreneurial journey.

The ‘Wadhwani Global Network for Entrepreneurs’ is supporting aspiring entrepreneurs, early and growth stage entrepreneurs, and SMEs with Accelerator & Scalerator programs, curated mentors, advisors & consultants, trusted service providers and investors through the mobile apps and a dedicated site www.wfnen.org.

Wadhwani Foundation has nurtured entrepreneurship in colleges in India for 14 years through student courses and launched hundreds of entrepreneurship clubs in campuses. This program inspires students and student outliers by providing facilitated learning through www.wfnen.org and LearnWISE platform. From short videos, blogs to events, webinars, bootcamps and case studies, there's plenty for student entrepreneurs keen on arming themselves with formidable skills required for business success.

Says Dr Ajay Kela, President & CEO, Wadhwani Foundation, “We are very excited to roll-out the Wadhwani Global Network for Entrepreneurs. This is a one-stop shop for the entrepreneur looking to grow locally and/or globally – providing all necessary resources, guidance, facilitated technology-led learning and networking opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs and startups to succeed, where the failure rates are abnormally high. This is a first-in-world initiative with global operations in Asia, Africa and Latin America. I foresee this as playing a major role in fulfilling the Wadhwani Foundation’s efforts towards high-value job creation, globally.”

The long-term goal of the Wadhwani Foundation is to help establish vibrant entrepreneur ecosystems in 100 cities around the world to alleviate the global youth unemployment problem. The ‘Wadhwani

Global Network for Entrepreneurs’ will not only act as a fulcrum to inculcate a culture of entrepreneurship at a time when the best and the brightest are avidly looking at entrepreneurship as their first and preferred career choice, but will also provide the necessary knowledge and networking resources to the startup ecosystem – so dearly required.