Bangalore, November 17 2017: The Government of Karnataka and NASSCOM have joined hands to launch  a Centre of Excellence for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (CoE-DS&AI).
The CoE with NASSCOM as its programme and implementation  agency  will be based on a public-private partnership model, and will  hopefully provide  the impetus for the development of data science and artificial intelligence, within the state -- and  across the country.The expected investment  is Rs 400 million. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the  ongoing Bangalore Tech Summit.
NASSCOM, through its partner ecosystem will work towards accelerating innovation, enabling industry-oriented research, promoting adoption of data-driven decision making by enterprises and enabling appropriate skills & talent development. The Centre of Excellence will provide high-end technology capabilities, data, expertise, thought leadership, and curated programs to augment capabilities across academia, enterprises, government, and innovators / advanced start-ups.
Says Priyank Kharge,  Karnataka Minister for IT, BT & Tourism: “Karnataka has led the IT revolution in India and has always been at the forefront in areas of science and information technology. Our Government has played the key role for Karnataka to be known as the start-up capital in the country through NASSCOM by establishing India’s first start-up warehouse. This Centre of Excellence for Data Science & Artificial Intelligence will be a catalyst for the growth of data science and artificial intelligence, and provide a head-start to, not just the state, but India as a destination to develop global products and solutions.”
Adds R. Chandrashekhar, President, NASSCOM: “Businesses across the globe are undergoing rapid changes propelled by digital disruption. Considering the opportunity that emerging digital technologies that will provide in times to come, this CoE-DS&AI is strategically placed to provide data-backed solutions to many complex problems of the world. NASSCOM and its industry members are currently engaged in defining the future of job in the digital transformation era and such an initiative from Government of Karnataka is a welcome step in the right direction. NASSCOM is happy to work with Government of Karnataka and its partners to establish the CoE and is confident that this centre will position India as a disruptor in the space”.
The initiative has received  good response  industry partners. IBM, Intel, Digital Ocean, and NVIDIA have in-principle agreed to support this programme.