India, being the fastest growing economy with the second largest population in the world, has a significant stake in the AI revolution. It was in the budget speech for 2018-2019 that the Hon’ble Finance Minister mandated the establishment of the the National Program on AI, with a view to guiding the research and development in new and emerging technologies. Concurrently, efforts have been underway to nurture the AI talent in the country and use the transformative potential of this revolutionary technology for socio-economic good. As India gears up to celebrate its 74th independence day, let’s look back at the top milestones in India’s AI journey.

• National AI strategy by NITI Aayog: Recognising AI’s potential to transform economies and the need for India to strategise its approach to be a part of this change, the government decided to undertake the task of crafting a national strategy for AI. The NITI Aayog focused on five sectors that are envisioned to benefit the most from AI in solving societal needs: a) healthcare, b) agriculture, c) education, d) smart cities and infrastructure and e) smart mobility and transportation. In June 2018, the efforts culminated in a discussion paper titled #AIFORALL which focuses on how India can leverage the transformative technologies to ensure social and inclusive growth, in line with the development philosophy of the government. Read more...
• India's gender parity in AI is best in the world: The Stanford AI Index 2021 is supplemented by the Global AI Vibrancy ranking which has placed India at the top spot in the 'Inclusion' parameters. This is a testament to the gender diversity in India's AI ecosystem. The ‘inclusion’ pillar has been created for the first time to highlight the importance of diversity in the AI field. India ranks first in the two indicators that comprise the Inclusion parameter: Unique Occupations (Female) and Skill Penetration (Female). Overall, India is at the sixth position while comparing 26 countries as per the AI Index 2021. Read more...
• Patent filing and research reports: Innovation in AI has gained significant traction over the last decade as India is ranked 8th in terms of AI patent filing and 4th in terms of AI research papers. Moreover, of the 5,000 AI patents filed over the last decade in India, 94% were filed in last 5 years. Read more...
• National AI portal of India: INDIAai, the National AI Portal, was launched as the central hub for everything AI in India and beyond, on May 30, 2020, by Hon’ble Minister of Electronics and IT Sri Ravi Shankar Prasad. The portal has been enriched by the dedicated efforts of Central and State Government organisations, Industry and Academia.  'One Year of INDIAai' booklet was unveiled by the team on the eve of one-year anniversary of the initiative. Read more...
• India’s fastest supercomputer: India’s fastest and largest supercomputer PARAM SIDDHI AI was commissioned by C-DAC in 2020. It can achieve 210 AI Petaflops; and is highly capable of addressing largescale challenges in healthcare, manufacturing, defence and urban planning among others - enhancing India's potential to become the AI garage of the world. It was also ranked #62 in the TOP500 Supercomputing list of November 2020. The Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) is intent on setting the benchmark as the facilitator and manufacturer of indigenous high performance computing capabilities. Read more...

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