The bouquet of AI, pushed by machine learning, computer vision and the Internet of Things (IoT), is speedily evolving as a significant universal purpose technology. Besides technology companies, it is currently being pursued across sectors ranging from manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare, retail, financial services, banking, national defence, and security to public utilities. "We encourage our engineers in India to constantly push the boundaries of AI and machine learning capabilities, with applications from risk, marketing, customer service to autonomous infrastructure...," said Jayanthi Vaidyanathan – Senior Director Human Resources, PayPal India. "We have formulated several Leadership programs to build mid and senior leadership; programs that focus on soft skills of the individuals be it in influencing, brand building, communication, to name a few and also a structured job rotation program to continuously create opportunities for the top talent to diversify and equip themselves with newer skills," she said. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry constituted a task force in 2018 to study'How AI is reshaping jobs in India'.

This helps users experience a hassle-free environment and enhances rendition. The solution includes human pose estimation using Tensor flow and OpenCV frameworks. Unlike most yoga applications that use traditional programming, Deep learning along with computer vision are used to generate the model where the back end is powered by AI and the front end is done using google framework flutter. The concept is simple yet effective as it is cost-efficient and very simple to use where minimum hardware specifications such as ram of 1 GB and a camera of 16mp along with basic storage will suffice, It can be used by everyone as due to user-friendly UI and inbuilt voice assistant will provide users the necessary instructions for the next posture. The camera heeds the user's posture and automatically suggests exercise.

On Saturday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) entered into a collaboration with Google to launch "Build for Digital India," a programme that will provide learners in engineering with a platform for market-ready development technology-based solutions that address key social problems. The programme will invite ideas from students to focus on areas of healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, women safety, smart mobility and transportation, environment, accessibility and disability and digital literacy. As part of the programme, engineering students across the country will be invited to apply and join in a learning journey that will help them transform their bright ideas into real-world solutions. Applicants will take part in online and offline learning opportunities on key technologies such as Machine Learning, Cloud and Android. These will be offered through Google's Developer Student Club network and other Google Developer networks.

In Asia, no economic or business sector is as vibrant or commands more attention of policymakers as the digital sphere. This trend is well documented in a landmark study by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)'s first annual Digital Economy Report. The timely study was released earlier this month as countries across Asia grapple with a complex digital future. Digital technologies help cut costs, enable delivery of services without leakages, reduce opportunities for graft, promote ease of doing business, leverage an increasingly non-tactile world, grow economies, have the potential to create millions of new jobs and, it appears, even help fight fake news. On the flip side, there are concerns of the cost of the emerging digital economy in terms of loss of traditional employment sectors, eroding the right to privacy, abetting authoritarian statecontrol of citizens' lives, causing a spike in cybercrimes and, according to some, promoting a deracinated, atomised existence for human beings.

India's efforts to set up a national centre on artificial intelligence (AI) reflect the country's ambition to accelerate its tech prowess akin to how China shaped the AI dialogue on the global stage. Finance minister Piyush Goyal's push for embracing AI fits into the government's vision to democratise newer technologies, which could be game-changers for creating societal impact. "India has become the second largest hub of startups. A national programme on AI has been envisaged by the government. This should be catalysed by the national centre for artificial intelligence as a hub, along with other centres of excellence," Goyal said on Friday.

Mint asked top company bosses how they see disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain and 5G impacting Indian firms. The IT and digital transformation industry is witnessing exponential growth in the use of cutting-edge digital technologies like Blockchain, 5G, AI, automation, robotics, cybersecurity and IoT. One can expect all these new age technologies to make greater inroads both in the Indian and global markets, in the years ahead. As part of our TechMNxt charter, we are collaborating and co-innovating with our partner ecosystem to derive business value for our customers by leveraging these digital technologies. I believe if companies are pre-emptive in the data protection space, there will be a huge business opportunity for Indian IT players like Tech Mahindra, not just in the European markets but globally too. At Tech Mahindra, we are bullish on 5G and as part of our preparedness for 5G, we are investing in 5G training labs in partnership with global players as well as setting up a training academy. The government of India has been focusing heavily on developing India into a $1 trillion digital economy by 2025. The government's focus on developing digital governance services and Smart Cities by adapting new age technologies like automation, AI, cybersecurity, blockchain and IoT has contributed to the growth of the Indian IT industry in recent times and promises to open additional avenues in the future.

NEW DELHI: The government should drive cross-border collaboration on artificial intelligence research with countries like Japan, UK, Germany, Singapore, Israel and China to develop solutions that tackle social and economic challenges, a report said today. The Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Science and Technology (DST) may take the lead in developing such relationships, suggested the Assocham-PwC joint study. It observed that forming cooperative relationships with some of the front-runners such as Japan, the UK, Germany, Singapore, Israel and China to develop solutions that tackle social and economic challenges can aid and accelerate strategy formulation in artificial intelligence, machine learning and other new-age technologies in India. "Exchanging best practices and learning from prior initiatives is one way of strengthening cooperation," noted the study. The study also suggested that policy planning in artificial intelligence (AI) must be aimed at creating an ecosystem that is supportive of research, innovation and commercialisation of applications.

"The public sector, with its various schemes (Digital India, Make in India, Skill India), could identify areas where specific applications of AI and robotics can be utilised to increase reach, effectiveness and efficiency, thus giving direction to existing innovation across different fields," the study said. Indian government departments should take the lead in developing cross-border collaborations with countries leading in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, industry chamber Assocham said on Sunday. The departments like the External Affairs Ministry (MEA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), should drive cooperative relationships with frontrunners like Japan, the UK, Germany, Singapore, Israel and China to develop solutions for social and economic challenges and accelerate strategy formulation in AI, machine learning (ML) and other new technologies, Assocham said citing its joint study with British advisory multinational PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). "Exchanging best practices and learnings from prior initiatives is one way of strengthening cooperation," the study titled "Advance artificial intelligence for growth: Leveraging AI and robotics for India's economic transformation" said.A It also suggested that policy planning in AI must be aimed at creating an ecosystem that is supportive of research, innovation and commercialisation of applications. "The public sector, with its various schemes (Digital India, Make in India, Skill India), could identify areas where specific applications of AI and robotics can be utilised to increase reach, effectiveness and efficiency, thus giving direction to existing innovation across different fields," the study said.

New Delhi: With its allocation for the Digital India programme almost doubled in the Union Budget 2018, the IT ministry plans to graduate to the second phase of its roll out with emphasis on promotion of artificial intelligence (AI) and electronic manufacturing. The ministry has set up four committees to encourage research related to AI which will be headed by directors of Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Nasscom and eminent researchers, minister of electronics and information technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday. "These committees will research and work on development of citizen-centric use cases; data platform; skilling, re-skilling, research and development; and legal regulatory, ethical and cyber-security," said Prasad. According to him, a high-level meeting with around 50 participants including 5-6 directors of IITs, Nasscom and private entities was organized to lay out the road map to promote AI in the country. The IT ministry will be coordinating with NITI Aayog on this, he added.

India has a severe shortage of engineers in these technologies, especially when countries like the US have a talent pool of 850,000 AI engineers. Finally, India begins to take Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, 3D Printing, and IOT technologies seriously. The finance minister announced during his Budget 2018 speech emphasised the need to set up centres of excellence to enhance their impact on business and the economy. The budget has allocated Rs 3,073 crore for this purpose, which has doubled from last year. This comes at a time when China has put in $2 billion for its centre for excellence.