IndiaAI Mission Expands AIKosh Engagement to NIT Andhra Pradesh
The IndiaAI Mission, under the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, organised the AIKosh University Engagement Programme (UEP) at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Andhra Pradesh to expand student access to national AI resources and strengthen India’s AI talent ecosystem.
The programme brought together more than 160 students for expert sessions, live demonstrations and hands-on activities focused on AIKosh and the wider IndiaAI ecosystem. Students explored AIKosh resources, including datasets, AI models and tools, as well as the AIKosh MCP (Model Context Protocol) and AIKosh SDK (Software Development Kit), which enable users to discover datasets and AI models using natural language.
Approved by the Government of India in March 2024, the IndiaAI Mission is focused on strengthening India’s AI capabilities, fostering innovation and supporting the development and adoption of responsible AI across the country.
A key pillar of the Mission, AIKosh serves as a unified national platform providing access to datasets, AI models, toolkits, benchmarks and other resources for AI research and application development. Through the University Engagement Programme, the Mission is taking these resources directly to academic institutions, enabling students and researchers to gain practical exposure to India’s growing AI infrastructure.
Speaking at the programme, Md. Y. Safirulla K IAS, Director, IndiaAI Mission, said, “The IndiaAI Mission is committed to democratising access to AI and taking this vision to campuses across the country. The AIKosh University Engagement Programme gives students access to real datasets, models and tools, enabling them to move from learning about AI to actively contributing to India’s AI ecosystem.”
Dr. KV Krishna Rao, Director, NIT Andhra Pradesh, said, “AIKosh provides a valuable platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration, enabling students and researchers to access resources that can support innovation and AI-led development. Platforms such as AIKosh will play an important role in strengthening India’s capabilities as the global AI landscape evolves.”
As part of the next phase of the programme, students at participating institutions will be encouraged to contribute datasets through the AIKosh open-source community and institutional profiles on the platform. They will also be encouraged to enrich existing datasets and develop proof-of-concept AI applications addressing public-good use cases. Selected student-led contributions may be considered for future recognition.
The AIKosh University Engagement Programme is being rolled out across higher educational institutions to encourage greater participation by students, researchers and faculty in India’s national AI ecosystem. AIKosh currently hosts more than 16,000 datasets, 350 AI models and 200 use cases, providing resources for researchers, startups, developers and students.
The engagement at NIT Andhra Pradesh marks another step in the IndiaAI Mission’s efforts to build an AI-ready talent pool and encourage campus-level participation in AI research, innovation and responsible adoption. Through the programme, the Mission aims to create stronger links between academic institutions and India’s national AI infrastructure, supporting contributions across datasets, models, applications and research.