Data science and artificial intelligence (AI) may have become buzzwords in recent times – but there are the likes of Dr Avik Sarkar, who have been working consistently to help governments, citizens, and clients improve outcomes through the smart use of data. 

Currently, Dr Sarkar is a part of the esteemed faculty at the Indian School of Business, working in the areas of data, emerging technology, and public policy. He was also the former Head of the Data Analytics Cell and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at NITI Aayog, a policy think tank of the government of India. 

He was instrumental in setting up the first High-Performance Computing-based Data Analytics Lab and Energy Modeling Unit at NITI Aayog. Interestingly, before he took on these above-mentioned roles, he spent over 18 years in the areas of AI, analytics, statistical modeling, text mining, and similar spaces across companies like Accenture, IBM, Nokia, NASA, Zycus, and more. 

In a freewheeling chat with Jibu Elias – Content Head, IndiaAI, Dr Sarkar shared insightful nuggets from his journey in the field, his involvement in shaping up the AI strategy during his stint at NITI Aayog, and more. 

From then to now

After pursuing his master's degree from IIT Bombay, and then PhD, Dr Sarkar delved deep into the industry – understanding more about data science, AI, data analytics, and more. It was during this time that realization struck – he wanted to work on projects that hinged on social good. 

"Even while working with corporates, some clients belong to the private sector, while others are government projects. I derived more pleasure from working with the government. In my last corporate role with Accenture Consulting in Singapore, my focus was health and public services – and a large chunk of my projects were with the government. That's where I received training in using data science skills in the government sector," he added, sharing that he was fortunate enough to also work on some assignments in Indonesia, China, and Malaysia. 

During this stint in Singapore, he stumbled upon an advertisement for the position of OSD at NITI Aayog. Soon after, he applied for it and got selected. After taking on this particular role, he figured that much can be done in India, using the power of data science and AI. 

Thereafter, he moved into the academic space at ISB and continued to work at the intersection of public policy and data science. 

The journey with NITI Aayog 

Dr Sarkar, who was leading the data analytics cell at the think tank, recalls how it wasn't a horizontal role. "We had to provide support to various verticals like education, health, agriculture, and the like. What this means is that they are already using data in decision-making, but by bringing in data analytics and science, they can progress much faster," he added. 

One of the key areas he worked on was healthcare, particularly malnutrition. Elaborating on the project and its challenges, he shared that when states have to allocate budgets for malnutrition; they prioritize districts by accounting for four variables. But this is difficult for the human mind – once these things are plotted on a chart, the process is far simpler. During his tenure, Dr Sarkar spent time developing tools that could help the state government and officials at NITI Aayog to reduce these challenges.  

"We have also worked extensively on energy security. When I was at NITI Aayog in 2018, we were planning and doing the modeling for energy needs for as far as 2050. These are not just needed for fuel, but also electricity. As we become prosperous as a nation, our energy needs are only likely to grow," he mentioned. 

During this time, Dr Sarkar also worked on an AI strategy with his team, along with consultation from industry, startups, and big tech companies, to understand the future roadmap and potential of the new-age technology. 

"From the economic growth perspective, we tried to zero in on certain focus sectors – healthcare, agriculture, education, mobility, and smart cities," he added.

 The need for the democratization of AI

While India can serve as a good model for other countries with regard to AI, it is important to understand that use cases may differ in accordance with different geographies. For instance, if there is a certain AI solution in India that has to be used in Latin America, it will have to be retrained based on the datasets available there. 

"In AI, you have to spend a fair amount of time in customizing and training it; it's not as simple as IT. We need to democratize AI – currently, it is present in niche institutes like the IITs and NITs. The faculty and students are very small in number. Hence, we need to speed up upskilling within the next 5-10 years, so that we do not lose out to our competitors," he advised. 

According to Dr Sarkar, it's important to understand both the technical side, as well as the business side in such courses. At ISB, the advanced management programme in business analytics has a good mix of data science components –  there's statistics, machine learning, data mining, AI, and also applications in the industry. 

What's also essential, in order to ensure inclusive development of the industry, is focusing on language technology. AI for Bharat is a step in the right direction, ensuring greater accuracy of algorithms. Over time, this will lead to automated machine translation – this can bring in the real revolution, even in areas like edtech. 

The last word 

While ending this insightful conversation, Dr Sarkar highlighted that while the jobs in this industry are limited; the opportunities are endless to make a change in people's lives. 

"The entrepreneurship opportunities are also immense in India. Students need to get out of the job mindset and think of establishing their own startups. What's holding them back is their attitude toward failed startups. If that mindset changes, there will be more entrepreneurs in this space," he concluded. 

Watch the video interview here