Back in 2006, when mathematician Clive Humby who coined the now popular adage “data is the new oil”, several extrapolations were made. The most common one was to assume that data was as highly valuable as oil, but as the field of AI and analytics has evolved, it’s becoming clearer that unlocking the true potential data is what makes it so rich. Data, in itself, has existed for centuries in various forms – from the earliest records that date back to when paper and printing was discovered. But what use is that data if not leveraged? This revelation has led to the boom in Artificial Intelligence and related areas to help businesses process the reams of data available today.

PM Modi said India should become a $5 trillion economy by 2024, which estimates point that India needs to grow at 9% to hit this target. While we leave it to the economists to figure out if India can reach that target in the stipulated time, India’s technology leaders believe we can inch closer to this target if data is unlocked and unleashed to its maximum potential.

At the XperienceAI Virtual Summit Curtain Raiser, some of India’s best minds from industry, research and policy development came together to discuss how this can be achieved. Union Minister for Law & Justice, Electronics and Information Technology and Communication Ravi Shankar Prasad launched the report “Unlocking Value from Data & AI: The India Opportunity” where he also spoke about how AI can bring about tremendous digital transformation in India.

This was followed by a panel discussion with some of the industry’s most prominent technology leaders, on how they believe this lofty vision to revolutionise the Indian economy can be achieved through AI.

(Clockwise: Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM; Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secy, Govt of Telangana; Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro; Anant Maheshwari, President, Microsoft India; Krishnan Ramanujam, President, TCS; UB Pravin Rao, COO, Infosys & Noshir Kaka, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company)

Federated Architecture: In his opening remarks, Anant Maheshwari, President of Microsoft India highlighted how COVID19 significantly accelerated technology adoption, and data holds great significance for all right from enterprises to SMEs/MSMEs and the government bodies too. Satya Nadella, in early April, remarked how digital transformation that should have taken about two years, happened in just two months thanks to the COVID19 pandemic. Another major area of focus to emerge from the pandemic is healthcare – technology has made it way simpler for even the layman to understand charts, graphs and statistical predictions. Data models are being used to help hospitals plan their contingencies and supplies like PPE kits, blood, medicines, beds and more. Currently, India stands at an inflection point in digital transformation, and the building blocks of a national AI strategy is coming together quite rapidly. This can be leveraged to achieve a $5 trillion economy. The data opportunity is huge, especially in workforce planning, financial planning, agritech, skilling, supply chain and logistics and more, but the true power of this data is by bringing it all together. What India needs is a federated architecture, which can be accomplished by building a centralized, apex body comprising of representatives from industry bodies, industry and government, led by a National Data Officer and supported by state-appointed data officers. They could work together to define the guidelines of data use and collaboration. This kind of structure can truly unlock India’s potential as an AI leader globally.

Strategies to Execute High Potential: Rishad Premji, Chairman, Wipro remarked that this is a definitive moment in India for data transformation, and strides are being taken in the right direction to build capabilities in this area. The launch of the National Digital Health Mission on August 15th is a landmark moment for Indian healthcare that is witnessing a tremendous turnaround since COVID19. Since the start of the pandemic in India, the country has seen in record time a tracking app like Aarogya Setu being launched and widely accepted. Other significant developments include tracking hospitals, teleconsultation, contact tracing apps, drug discovery – all through the power of AI. In addition, the recently announced National Education Policy (NEP) also laid great emphasis on AI skills. So the bigger question remains – how does one identify and execute a plan for India’s data story? Lot of thought needs to be given to identifying and collecting relevant datasets that industries can capitalize upon such as SMEs, agriculture and healthcare. For instance, in agriculture, a lot of data on soil, weather and pricing systems are being collected and processed now, to help deliver Soil Health Cards for farmers to help with predictive farming. The aggregation of various relevant datasets can greatly help sectors move the needle. Moreover, how can industries move beyond pilots to scaled projects? There is a rich ecosystem built today on strong collaboration between government, academia, industry and startups, and this has to be leveraged to scale pilot projects across the country.

Lighthouse Projects: Krishnan Ramanujam, President of TCS emphasized on the role of lighthouse projects to drive AI in India. India has a strong foundation in AI, backed by research and supported by the government and industry. In addition, Indian IT companies are establishing their competence by bringing high-accuracy AI platforms that are helping businesses become more agile and efficient. Global companies are setting up Centers of Excellence, and these efforts are being driven by strategic partnerships. It is now time to think and conceptualise how India can not only be the provider, but the definer and curator of datasets, making it a high value proposition for MNCs too. Lighthouse projects are the need of the hour to realise this vision. Some examples include an AI-based voice assistant to decode foreign trade policy for better customer engagement, currently being used by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and Digital Impact Square in Nashik, Maharashtra where nearly 340 young innovators (below the age of 20) are addressing challenges in food wastage using AI.

Enhancing Skills: For UB Pravin Rao, COO of Infosys, a strategic investment in AI can create millions of jobs. The Indian tech sector employs nearly 4.3 million people, out of which 500,000 are working in AI and related fields. This number can be scaled by developing a sharp focus on skilling. Examples of this are NASSCOM’s FutureSkills platform and the AI module developed by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and NASSCOM. In addition, the NEP also highlighted the need for skills in AI. It is high time for India to build capabilities in India, and while the country is at it, its crucial to look at self governing processes that make AI dependable, responsible and ethical. NITI Aayog has already released a framework for developing ethical AI. The trust factor is critical to build a knowledge economy.

AI in 2020: What States Can Do

Jayesh Ranjan, IT Secretary, State of Telangana joined the session as well to shed light on how states can leverage this change for the better. As a bureaucrat, he brought a new perspective to fortifying policy and government efforts to drive digital transformation. He spoke about the government establishing a clear strategy and intent for its digital transformation goal, and deploy the best talent to deliver these goals. The year of 2020 has been declared as the Year of AI by the Telangana Govt, providing the state government a strong sense of purpose to doggedly pursue this mission. Other steps included developing a state AI framework, taking inspiration from the national AI framework. He also mentioned that while novel ideas get espoused, execution is always a challenge. In order to address this obstacle, the Telangana government established T-AIM or the Telangana AI Mission along with NASSCOM to establish the state as a global AI hub, and a dedicated team drives this goal. The government is also open to hiring the best capabilities, outside of the bureaucratic ranks if needed, and is keen on taking a strong, collaborative approach. Another significant step in this direction was the AI4AI or Artificial Intelligence for Agriculture Innovation, by the Telangana govt along with World Economic Forum and Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) that will focus on new-age solutions driven by AI to address challenges in farming.

Want to Unlock Potential? Find Ways To Interlink Datasets

Ajay Sawhney, Principal Secretary, MeitY added some of his insights on how the government is working on federated structures for data integration. Currently, data has a largely uni-dimensional use but its true value would be if it can be used for multiple purposes. One of the Central Government’s efforts in this direction is the National Digital Health Blueprint, led by former UIDAI chairman J Satyanarayana. Similar efforts are already underway for education and agriculture, revealed the minister. A ‘platformisation’ approach to domain expertise requires the highest level of collaboration between the states and the centre, and other key stakeholders like the industry, academia and startups.