In May 2019, Amitabh Kant, CEO, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog had written to all Indian states and ministries stating that “To give a push to adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), it is pertinent to have an AI check in all new projects to identify specific areas where AI can be used,” thus urging states to identify key projects across five sectors to apply AI technology. 

While the states have identified areas such as healthcare, agriculture, public safety, smart city and environment, they are still looking NITI Aayog’s guidance in form of use cases of successful AI application, a network of AI experts in various sub-domains and how they can prepare and arrange data for AI usage. Although large-scale adoption of AI has been limited, the apex body is looking to identify opportunities and increase adoption of the technology in a systematic way. 

As per the recommendations of the National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence, the government interventions need to focus on sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, urban development, and mobility to make the best use of the limited public resources. The Strategy also recommends a two-tiered structure - research and prototype development; and proposes the creation of Centers of Research Excellence (CoREs) for fundamental research and sector-specific International Centers for Transformational AI (ICTAI) for product development to ensure that AI research does in fact get converted into viable commercial products. 

The NITI Aayog is already exploring/implementing AI solutions in the following areas:

• Explore ways that AI can help Telangana government’s National Agriculture Market (eNAM) mandis carry out; qualify-checks on fruits and vegetables 
• Creating a biobank in coordination with the Department of Biotechnology which can store pathological and radiological cancer images that may be used for the development of sophisticated AI solutions; and 
• Developing the National Data and Analytics platform which is AI-supported to democratise access to public government data through a user-friendly interface
• Exploring the usage of AI in National Security to explore potential applications of AI in Defense. The report of the Task Force has been submitted to the Ministry of Defense.

NITI Aayog is also preparing the stage for the eventual large-scale implementation of AI. They are deliberating with State Governments to identify potential applications of AI, and how together, they can build the underlying infrastructure, data, etc required for AI implementation. The growing AI ecosystem - startups and private companies - are also important in the national AI picture because startups and private companies have been expanding their AI capabilities and develop new tools. 

This falls in line with the Strategy as the NITI Aayog envisions India to be an international leader in the space of ‘AI for All’ or ‘AI for Social Good’. Locally too, given that India’s internet and smartphone penetration continues to grow – it is envisaged that India will transition to a major market for AI-driven products and solutions soon. It is believed that as this transition occurs India is well placed to become a leader in the usage of AI in social sectors – given its large diversity and varying demographic.

The above article is created from excerpts of the interview of Anna Roy, Advisor, Industry and Data Management & Analysis verticals, NITI Aayog by Express Computer, dated April 13, 2020.