Zoho CEO Sridhar Vembu responded to criticism from Mohandas Pai, former Infosys board member, over the selection of locations for the government’s newly announced AI Centres of Excellence (CoE). Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had recently announced that three AI CoEs would be established at institutions in northern India: AIIMS and IIT Delhi, IIT Ropar, and IIT Kanpur. These centres will focus on healthcare, agriculture, and sustainable cities.
Mohandas Pai took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express his dissatisfaction with Bengaluru not being chosen as a location, despite the city being known as India’s technology capital. In his post, Pai argued that the decision to exclude Bengaluru reflects a pattern of neglect towards the southern states, despite their significant contributions to India’s IT sector.
He questioned why Bengaluru was overlooked and urged the central government, as well as local political leaders, to address the perceived bias. Pai’s message called for the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Responding to Pai’s concerns, Vembu provided insights into the selection process behind the AI CoEs. As Co-chair of the apex committee responsible for evaluating and finalizing the locations, Vembu emphasized that the decision was not politically motivated. He explained that the committee, which included a significant number of members from the southern region and the private sector, conducted a rigorous review of project proposals from various institutions.
Vembu clarified that top institutions from the South, including IISc Bengaluru, IIT Chennai, NIT Calicut, IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Mumbai, had submitted strong proposals. However, the three institutions ultimately selected stood out during the evaluation process. He stressed that the decision was unanimous and based purely on merit, urging people not to interpret it through a North-South political lens.
Vembu concluded by taking personal responsibility for the outcome, reaffirming the committee’s confidence in the final selections and defending the process as thorough and impartial.
Mohandas Pai took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to express his dissatisfaction with Bengaluru not being chosen as a location, despite the city being known as India’s technology capital. In his post, Pai argued that the decision to exclude Bengaluru reflects a pattern of neglect towards the southern states, despite their significant contributions to India’s IT sector.
He questioned why Bengaluru was overlooked and urged the central government, as well as local political leaders, to address the perceived bias. Pai’s message called for the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
I want to respond to this because I was the Co-chair of the apex committee that decided the 3 AI Centres of Excellence.
— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) October 17, 2024
The committee itself had plenty of us from the South (probably the majority). Most of us came from the private sector and the Government did not tell us who we… https://t.co/yaqHdQUtie
Responding to Pai’s concerns, Vembu provided insights into the selection process behind the AI CoEs. As Co-chair of the apex committee responsible for evaluating and finalizing the locations, Vembu emphasized that the decision was not politically motivated. He explained that the committee, which included a significant number of members from the southern region and the private sector, conducted a rigorous review of project proposals from various institutions.
Vembu clarified that top institutions from the South, including IISc Bengaluru, IIT Chennai, NIT Calicut, IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Mumbai, had submitted strong proposals. However, the three institutions ultimately selected stood out during the evaluation process. He stressed that the decision was unanimous and based purely on merit, urging people not to interpret it through a North-South political lens.
Vembu concluded by taking personal responsibility for the outcome, reaffirming the committee’s confidence in the final selections and defending the process as thorough and impartial.
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