The government is preparing to introduce the India AI Programme soon: Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar

Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, announced that the government is preparing to launch the India AI programme soon.

"The AI Programme in India is going to be exceptionally well-funded, designed, and implemented," the Minister declared virtually at the 2023 Nasscom Future Forge event. "It will shift our startup ecosystem's emphasis to practical applications in governance, security, and agriculture,” he said.

Industry sources claim that the programme might be launched on December 11, 2023. A three-day worldwide summit on artificial intelligence will take place in New Delhi, India, starting on December 12. The Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) summit will focus on a number of important AI-related topics, such as innovation and commercialisation, data governance, the future of work, and responsible AI.

The minister recently attended the AI Safety Summit 2023, which brought together participants from 28 countries, including the US and China at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire, UK. The countries who participated in the summit approved "The Bletchley Declaration." The document promotes a deeper investigation of AI's whole potential and emphasises the significance of coordinating AI systems with human intentions.

According to Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the government is developing an AI strategy that includes creating a sizable computing infrastructure. Startups will be able to use it as a service to train their models.

The Indian government and startup ecosystem will have curated access to datasets through a large-scale scheme that it is working on.

Furthermore, the minister was questioned regarding the challenges Indian startups encounter when trying to sell their goods to large organisations and the government. According to him, there will be a significant shift in the cybersecurity landscape in the next six months that will help Indian IT companies.

Additionally, he predicted that deep tech would be crucial to the next wave of innovation and growth in India's startup environment. According to him, the nation's digital economy now accounts for 11.5% of GDP, up from 4.5-5% in 2014. It is expected to account for 20% of the country’s GDP by 2026.

India was well-known in 2014 for having a significant presence in the IT and ITES sectors, home to prestigious firms like Infosys, Wipro, and TCS. India has now established an innovation ecosystem with a strong emphasis on the consumer internet market, which has contributed to this momentum. India's Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the digitisation of government and administrative procedures have acted as catalysts for this.

With the help of technology, Indians' lives and government must be transformed, and a highly competitive global digital economy full of chances for youth is what Digital India aims to establish. This covers India's shift from being a technology consumer to an architect, producer, and designer of gadgets, goods, and solutions for the global market. India is building capabilities in areas such as semiconductors, Web3, artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, and cybersecurity.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.