Baramati: Industrialist Gautam Adani inaugurated the Sharadchandra Pawar Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) at Baramati in Maharashtra's
Pune district on Sunday. The centre of excellence, funded by the Adani Group chairman, has been established under Vidya Pratishthan, the educational institute governed by the Pawar family. Adani Group has entered into a transformative partnership, formally signing an MoU with Vidya Pratishthan, Baramati, to enhance AI collaboration. Nationalist Congress Party - NCP (Sharadpawar) chief Sharad Pawar, Baramati MP Supriya Sule, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, his wife and Rajya Sabha MP Sunetra Pawar and other members of the extended Pawar family were present on the occasion. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar and Yugendra Pawar, who is the treasurer of Vidya Pratisthan, were present. ALSO READ | Adani Group Plans To Invest Rs 1 Lakh Crore in Airports Over 5 Years, Eyes Aggressive Privatisation Bids
Baramati Symbol of Limitless Transformation, Says Gautam Adani
Industrialist Gautam Adani, after inaugurating the AI centre, said that Baramati stands as a symbol of one such transformation, with limitless potential, made possible by the vision of an extraordinary leader and mentor, Sharad Pawar.
"I have been blessed to have known Pawar sahib for more than three decades, and what I have learned from him has no parallel. But beyond knowledge, it is his wisdom, his affection, and his deep empathy that leave the strongest imprint," he lauded the leadership of veteran leader Sharad Pawar.
"That is why, for me, he has always been a mentor in the truest sense. Having visited Baramati dozens of times, I can say with absolute conviction that what Pawar sahib has achieved here is beyond just local development. By transforming agriculture, strengthening cooperatives, encouraging entrepreneurship, building educational institutions, establishing industry policy, and doing so in an unparalleled, integrated manner," Gautam Adani continued.
Gautam Adani Stresses Upon Importance of AI
Stressing the importance of AI as a future technology, Gautam Adani said, "This partnership is a commitment to build applied technological capability, where AI research, engineering, and execution move together in an integrated fashion."
"While the seeds of yesterday were sown in the earth, the seeds of tomorrow will be planted in the algorithm," he said.
"Human progress does not move in a straight line. It advances in leaps. Each leap is propelled by a technology revolution that first unsettles society, and then rebuilds it at a far higher level of capability," the industrialist mentioned.
According to Gautam Adani, the first industrial revolution harnessed the power of steam and mechanisation. The second brought electrification and mass production. The third connected the world through digital computing and the internet.
"Today, we are living through the fourth industrial revolution, an age defined by artificial intelligence," he said, understanding the need for capacity building in the AI space.
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"What history teaches us is that every such transition carries two opposing forces. Extraordinary opportunity and profound anxiety. Fear of displacement, fear of irrelevance, fear of giving up control to systems, we do not yet fully understand," he said, in a way reflecting the apprehensions of people that AI may disrupt jobs.
Gautam Adani had visited Baramati, the home turf of the Pawar family, in 2022 to attend the inauguration of the Science and Innovation Activity Centre in the town, about 110 km from Pune. The relationship between Pawar and Adani goes back nearly two decades.
