"Government is committed to create adequate capacities of AI technologies", says MEITY secretary S Krishnan

New Delhi [India], May 17 : S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), underscored the Indian government's commitment to developing robust capacities in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
Speaking at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Annual Business Summit 2024, held in New Delhi on Friday, Krishnan emphasised the pivotal role AI will play in the country's economic growth and technological advancement.
Krishnan said, "Application of AI technologies have significant benefits for different sectors of the economy and the Government is committed to create adequate capacities of those AI technologies that are relevant and support the country's growth."
Addressing the theme, "Co-Creating the Future Responsibly: Role of Business," Krishnan highlighted the numerous benefits AI technologies bring to various sectors of the economy.
He outlined the government's strategic focus on nurturing AI capacities that are pertinent to India's growth trajectory. The session titled "AI: What does the Future Hold?" served as a platform for industry leaders and experts to discuss the transformative potential of AI.
Krishnan elaborated on the pillars of the IndiaAI programme, which aims to position India as a global leader in AI innovation and application.
He projected that AI will significantly boost job creation, especially for STEM graduates, though he acknowledged the necessity for extensive re-training and re-skilling to adapt to evolving technological landscapes.
Touching on the critical need for an AI regulatory framework, Krishnan assured that India would develop regulations by learning from international best practices.
This approach is intended to ensure that India's AI regulations are both robust and adaptive to global standards.
Professor Bharat Bhasker, Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, shared insights on AI's role in enhancing human capabilities and unlocking new levels of efficiency.
Bhaskar said, "It will transform the way we operate in the next 5-10 years. Education is one sector which will and is already witnessing the impact."
He predicted that AI would revolutionise operational paradigms within the next 5-10 years, with education being a prime example.
Prof. Bhasker cited the AICTE's online Document Translation Tool, Anuvadini, as a transformative tool that democratises education by providing access in regional languages.
Tejpreet Singh Chopra, founder and CEO of BLP Group, projected exponential growth for the AI market in the next 5-7 years.
Chopra said, "The AI market is expected to grow exponentially in the next 5-7 years, given the speed at which we have been able to display this technology. We are already witnessing the adoption of AI in sectors like health care, the financial sector and banking."
He added, "It is set to change the way we produce in the industrial sector. India's strengths in cloud, computation, ability to write advanced algorithms, and talent pool will help us lead in AI adoption and compete with the best. He also shared that fundamentally, AI is not a challenge but collecting data and the lack of required skills to make these data communicate is a challenge."
Highlighting the rapid adoption of AI in sectors such as healthcare, finance, and industrial production, he noted India's competitive edge in cloud computing, algorithm development, and a rich talent pool.
However, he pointed out the challenges of data collection and the need for skills to leverage this data effectively.
Vinayak Dalmia, co-founder and managing director of 3rditech and 114ai, emphasised the revolutionary impact of generative AI.
He expressed confidence in India's potential to lead globally in this field.
Dalmia said, "It is important to understand what generative AI is and what it is not. It is going to be the game changer and India will take it to the world."
Rajiv Memani, Vice President of CII, moderated the session and described India's AI ecosystem as being at an "inflection point."
Memani said, "India is at an "inflection point" in the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem. The entire ecosystem around AI adoption is very powerful and the way it is going to disrupt industry and various sectors in near future will be unprecedented."
He added, "India is the largest producer and consumer of data making it a fertile ground for testing various AI platforms. Further, the availability of large talent pool of STEM will make it possible for India to move with the required speed and scale to embrace AI quickly."