Niti Aayog proposes Rs 7,500-crore plan for Artificial Intelligence push

   

• NITI has drawn up a plan for creating an institutional framework for artificial intelligence in the country
• It is estimated that AI has the potential to add $957 billion to India’s GDP by 2035 and boost India’s annual growth by 1.3 percentage points by 2035.
• The NITI Aayog has drawn up a plan for creating an institutional framework for artificial intelligence (AI) in the country.
  •  It has circulated a cabinet note to provide Rs 7,500 crore in funding for creation of cloud computing platform called AIRAWAT and research institutes.
  •  A senior government official told that the Aayog has already circulated the note for consideration by the Expenditure Finance Committee, which is expected to take it up soon.

 

• The note proposes that the new government pump in Rs 7,500 crore initially over a three-year period and set up a high-level taskforce to oversee roll-out and implementation of AI,
• The proposal entails investing in funding five institutes or centers of research excellence (CORE), 20 international centers for transformational AI (ICTAI) and setting up a cloud computing platform called AIRAWAT that can be accessed by anyone.

“Selection of institutes and partners will be done based on guidelines that are being developed while the funding for all of this will be staggered based on the milestones achieved,” said an official.

The entire AI mission will be monitored by a task force, to be headed by a member of NITI Aayog with representation from all ministries and states besides experts as its key members, according to the proposal

• The NITI Aayog’s CEO Amitabh Kant has already written to all states and ministries requesting them to identify key projects across the five identified sectors where AI can be adopted.
• The government aims to position India as a trailblazer for emerging economies when it comes to AI and is confident that the technology can help address some of the key challenges in social sectors such as education, health, agriculture, urbanization and mobility.
• In the Union budget for 2018-19, the government had entrusted NITI Aayog with developing the national program on AI, following which the Aayog had in June last year released the national strategy for AI.
• China has committed to build a domestic AI industry worth nearly $150 billion in the next few years, with an aim to become the leading AI power by 2030.