Kolkata, Jan. 25 -- The Global AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) is likely to be set up in Bengal. ITC Infotech, the wholly owned subsidiary of diversified corporate giant ITC, is going to set up the central hub.

It was learnt that the project would eventually have two global hubs, one in Kolkata and another in Bangalore.

The formal announcement on this would be done during the forthcoming Bengal Global Business Summit on February 5 and 6, sources in the state government said.

The Global AI Centre of Excellence (CoE) may act as a central hub for ITC Infotech, through which it will service its global clientele while acting as the core for ITC Group's digital initiatives. ITC Ltd chairman Sanjiv Puri earlier had told media that he felt Kolkata was the optimal place for its first cutting-edge global AI hub.

He also said that Kolkata is an optimal and logical location for their first cutting-edge global AI hub in the state as it has a talent pool of engineering/AI/statistics.

The Bengal government under the leadership of the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been extending all support.

The hub will not only promote AI skills and capabilities building and collaborate with academia in Bengal but will also create employment opportunities.

The global hub would be housed at ITC Green Centre Campus, which is a state-of-the-art IT facility with an investment outlay of Rs 1,600 crore when complete. Kolkata is the ideal place for the hub to set up as the city can supply the talent pool from the premier institutions like IIT, ISI, IIM. Road infrastructure has immensely improved across Bengal.

Incidentally, ITC Infotech currently has a total manpower of 11,000 globally, and in Kolkata, the number of employees is around 1,000.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.