COIMBATORE: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the central government has proposed to establish three centres of excellence (COE) for artificial intelligence (AI) across India.
“I wish one of those centres comes up in Tamil Nadu. But it cannot be forced on a state from Delhi,” she said, while interacting with students of a private college in Coimbatore.
Delving further, the Union Minister said it was earlier difficult to trace tax evasions. “It was an impossible task before. But, with the aid of data mining and AI, the entire web of tax evaders could be caught easily. The society will get better due to AI,” she said.
Earlier, while participating in a credit outreach program, Nirmala Sitharaman gave loans to the tune of Rs 3,749 crore to over one lakh beneficiaries including SHG members, MSME’s, farmers, street vendors and rural people in Coimbatore.
She said Ramanathapuram and Virudhunagar were among other districts identified as ‘aspirational districts’ under the Centre’s scheme. “They have reached the level of saturation as benefits have reached maximum people. Also, the government has launched a scheme to focus on ‘aspirational blocks’ in 500 blocks identified across the country,” she said.
In the morning, Nirmala Sitharaman cleaned the streets as part of ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ program (cleanliness drive) and visited CODISSIA Defence Innovation and Atal Incubation Centre. While addressing students of a private school in Peelamedu, the Union Minister said India should become a developed nation by 2047 and sought co-operation of everyone for the country’s development.
In another event, she presented miniature models of Chandrayaan-3 rockets to students of a Corporation school.