IIT Delhi, AIIMS to establish Center of Excellence for AI in healthcare

IIT Delhi and AIIMS Delhi, two of the premier institutes in the country, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Center of Excellence for AI in healthcare (AI-CoE). The MoU was signed by Prof M Srinivas, Director, AIIMS Delhi, and Prof Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, at a ceremony held at IIT Delhi.

The AI-CoE will focus on developing AI-based solutions for supporting key national health programmes in the country. Last year, the two institutes were awarded a grant of Rs 330 crore by the Ministry of Education under the initiative ‘Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India,’ following a rigorous and highly competitive selection process. The proposed Centre of Excellence will be the executing vehicle for the grant.

“This MoU marks the beginning of far-reaching collaborative research that has the potential to change the face of healthcare in the country,” said Prof Srinivas.

Prof Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, echoed the sentiment and said, “A partnership between AIIMS and IIT Delhi has the potential to transform Artificial Intelligence for affordable healthcare. We are delighted to be shaping this national center of excellence and hope that our output will impact the lives of Indians.”

Prof Chetan Arora, Chief Project Manager, who will lead the AI-CoE from IIT Delhi, said, “We are excited to be part of this AI-CoE. The CoE will serve as a key research and resource center at the national and international level and aims to revolutionise the national public health system using indigenously developed AI systems and solutions. Our aim is to develop cutting edge AI solutions to upscale health services, upskill our healthcare providers, and improve the accessibility of quality healthcare to remote and marginalised sections of our population.”