NITI Aayog pilots deployment of Artificial Intelligence across sectors

To identify and weed out real problems through use of frontier technology, Indian government think tank NITI Aayog is piloting artificial intelligence-based (AI) solution in the sectors such as agriculture, education and healthcare.

Most of the projects that think tank of the government is taking in the line of using AI across sectors. And the government is looking at maximizing the reach, said a Factor Daily report quoting sources close to the development.

NITI aayog has formed a committee to meet and take help of global experts, academia, companies, and other ministries to implement the projects on the ground.

The use of frontier technology will uplift the economy and improve the quality of people lives, added another source. Meanwhile, the think tank is eyeing sectors which are hampering and connected to a large section of people.

Besides education, health care and agriculture have a big impact on people. In the health sector,  the detection of cancer using AI is work in progress. NITI has started early for this project. The project inside Niti Aayog is called bio-banking of images — a PoC, which is being done in partnership with Tata Memorial Centre.

Besides, it has reportedly undertaken scheme to use blockchain technology for curbing usages and sales of fake drugs.

Govt had also announced IndiaChain, a blockchain-based solution for awarding digital certification of educational degrees.

The government intends to complete a ‘proof of concept’ (PoC) solution by the end of 2018. The solution is expected to roll out at the beginning of the next year.

NITI is also partnering with ISRO and IBM for AI solutions to improve crop productivity and soil health in the farming sector. It will also use remote sensing satellite images and data for the project. According to an estimate, AI in agriculture will be worth $2.63 billion by 2025 — mostly driven by rising population, adoption of information management systems, and need to improve crop productivity.

#NewsFromNITI: CEO @amitabhk87 & @borgebrende, President @wef sign Statement of Intent (SoI) to collaborate on #AI & #blockchain technologies at a 'Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution' to be established in India soon. pic.twitter.com/ct5yX1kRtI

— NITI Aayog (@NITIAayog) April 12, 2018

Govt will also explore the inception of a national language processing platform that can provide AI applications with APIs source libraries to do natural languages processing tasks like intent recognition on indigenous languages, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant had earlier wrote talking about the technology.

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to transform every industry and sector in the country. It will be bigger than the advent of the internet or harnessing electricity. In years to come it will transform every single industry and sector, he added.

Among many things, AI can also be utilized to assist the judiciary in reducing the backlog of court cases.

The government had earlier asked NITI Aayog to take the lead in implementing policies ranging from farm sector reforms to establish a new ecosystem for artificial intelligence.

During 2018 budget presentation this year, finance minister Arun Jaitley had said, "Niti Aayog will initiate a national program to direct our efforts in the area of artificial intelligence, including research and development of its applications.”

In layman terms, Artificial Intelligence is intelligence displayed by machines.

In the global market, China has carved out a detailed plan to become AI superpower by 2030. Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised that future leader of artificial intelligence will rule the world.

Of late, Indian e-commerce companies are slowly adopting AI in various aspects of their businesses to reduce costs and drive sales. It can reduce operational costs just to a fraction through automation.

E-commerce juggernaut Flipkart is investing hundreds of USD million to enhance the shopping experience, shortening the time taken to fulfil deliveries and address customer complaints.