IIT Delhi, AIIMS sign MoU to establish centre to research AI in healthcare

The proposed Centre of Excellence will develop AI-based tools to support key national health programmes and operate as a Section 8 company under a ₹330 crore grant

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi on Wednesday announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) to research artificial intelligence (AI) solutions in healthcare.

 

This comes a year after the two institutes were awarded a grant of ₹330 crore by the Ministry of Education under its Make AI in India, Make AI Work for India initiative. People in the know said the proposed CoE will be the executing vehicle for the grant.

 

Commenting on the collaboration, AIIMS director M Srinivas said the MoU marks the beginning of far-reaching collaborative research that has the potential to change the face of healthcare in the country.

 

 

Terming the partnership as having the potential to transform AI for affordable healthcare, Rangan Banerjee, director, IIT Delhi, added the institutes are delighted to be shaping this national Centre of Excellence and hope the output will impact the lives of Indians.

 

The institutes added that the AI-CoE will primarily focus on developing AI-based solutions to support key national health programmes. 

 

Chetan Arora, chief project manager, who will lead the AI-CoE from IIT Delhi, told Business Standard the CoE would be taken up as a Section 8 company (non-profit organisation).

 

He added that according to the initial proposal, the CoE will look at at least five national health programmes, including those for cancer, maternity and child care, blindness, and tuberculosis (TB).

 

“The CoE will be dynamic and adjust to the demands of our national health programmes and the pace of AI technology,” Arora said.

 

According to people in the know, the company is proposed to be run by a board of directors, which may include secretaries from the Ministries of Education, Health, and Electronics and Information Technology.

 

“The NPO can be led by a chief executive officer (CEO), who will be selected at a later stage,” an AIIMS official said on condition of anonymity.

 

The CoE is expected to become a national resource, open to seeking further funding from private sources and alumni networks. “While the initial funding from the government grant is for a period of four years, the CoE would also be open to collaborate with other partners to develop AI solutions,” the official quoted above said.