Niti Aayog Aims At ‘AI For All'

Anna Roy, a 1992-batch officer of the Indian Economic Service and an advisor at NITI Aayog, who was instrumental in bringing out the paper on National Strategy on AI, sets the roadmap in ‘AI​ ​​​​​​for All’ mission

- Sandhya Michu

In the domain of Artificial Intelligence (AI), NITI Aayog has been developing India’s National Strategy on AI and is also reportedly in the advanced stages of creating the National Data and Analytics platform. NITI Aayog has been working along with the academia, government departments and agencies and technology companies to define the best practices for the usage and implementations of AI.

Roy says, “The core focus of NITI Aayog is to collaborate on devising implementation framework for solutions based on emerging technologies; work to identify best practices and propagate solutions across the country; identify suitable financial support channels for funding pilots based on emerging technologies in different states, as well as establish centres of excellence.”

Sharing more about the discussion which NITI Aayog is having around the National Strategy for AI, she says, “The government is working on an objective of the #AIforAll strategy. We are looking at high impact areas that India could bet on. The world is certainly looking at AI, but does India need it? If yes, what are its unique applications?”

In her deliberation, she pointed out that the maximum AI deployment has happened in sectors with commercial interest. The government needs to play a bigger role while aiming at inclusiveness. Although in comparison to its global counterparts, India is a bit late to the AI party; however, the energy and enthusiasm of the Indian government is at its peak.

Internationally, there is a race between China, the US, and Russia in the AI space. It is clear, for instance, that China doesn’t just want to develop AI solutions for itself, but also set global standards. International commentators have also noted how the gap between the US and other countries on the defence front is reducing as its rivals adopt AI solutions rapidly.