The Indian government nominated the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-Madras) as a UN Centre of Excellence (COE) for Artificial Intelligence (AI), focusing on capacity building and skill development. Officials announced this during a high-level event on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Supporting the Global South in AI Capacity
MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan highlighted India’s vision to support the Global South in AI capacity building and skill development. He noted that IIT-Madras, recognized as an Institute of Eminence, will serve as a COE under the United Nations Office for Digital and Emerging Technologies (ODET) initiative. The UN established ODET to address both opportunities and challenges in rapidly evolving technologies, including AI governance. Countries worldwide will nominate institutions to form a global network of AI Centres of Excellence.
Event Highlights and Global Collaboration
The announcement was made at an event co-hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Kenya, supported by UN ODET, titled “Empowering Nations for Inclusive Prosperity in the Era of Artificial Intelligence.” Krishnan emphasised India’s AI approach with the mantra: “Capacity is the new connectivity.” He warned that the AI capacity gap is widening across regions, and urged countries to pool resources to address the structural divide. He stated, “If we get People, Compute, Data, and Safety right, we can close the AI divide faster and more effectively.”
India’s Ongoing AI Initiatives
The Secretary also highlighted India’s efforts under the India AI initiative, including the upcoming AI Impact Summit in February 2026. He invited countries and companies to participate in the event. He outlined India’s growing AI infrastructure. The initiative currently hosts 38,000 GPUs, with capacity increasing daily. It also offers 300 open-source AI models, with more in development. As reported by thehindubusinessline.com, Krishnan added that India aims to skill around 10 million people annually, covering roles from data annotation to advanced research scholars, under its mission to build a robust AI ecosystem.
