Large-scale adoption of technologies such as AI in sectors like healthcare, agriculture and education needs to be backed by a robust data ecosystem, intellectual property rights and collaboration between private players, according to a report by NITI Aayog. The discussion paper on'National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence #AIforALL', released by NITI Aayog on Monday, states that while AI has the potential to provide incremental value to a range of sectors, adoption is still driven from a commercial perspective. It should also be used to create societal impact, it said. Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog, said in a tweet that AI should be leveraged to provide quality solutions at scale across education, health, agriculture and efficiency and safety in Smart Cities and Smart Mobility. But there are gaps to be bridged to reap the benefits of AI on a large scale.

Technology company ABB India and Niti Aayog joined hands to boost the government's vision of'Make in India' through advanced manufacturing technologies that incorporate the latest developments in robotics and Artificial Intelligence (AI). A Statement of Intent (SoI) was signed on Wednesday for both to work together in preparing key sectors of the economy for digitalisation, artificial intelligence (AI) robotics, and industrial automation, an ABB India statement said. The initiative will cover the fast growing segment of electric mobility. Niti Aayog and ABB will work with government ministries, solicit feedback for areas critical to them and discuss solutions using industrial automation, and digitalisation technologies. "We are looking forward to learning more about practical applications of future technologies such as AI and IoT, especially in streamlining governance and economic systems. This collaboration, which will include cross-sectoral understanding of digitalization at ABB's world class centers, will be key in driving progress of key sectors in India. This collaboration is meant to lead to actionable insights and focused plans that will help India become a center for advanced manufacturing," said Amitabh Kant, CEO of NITI Aayog.

The central government's top policy think tank, Niti Aayog, has entered into an agreement with Swiss engineering group ABB to collaborate over artificial intelligence and robotics in manufacturing. Both parties have signed a statement of intent to support the government's Make in India programme through advanced manufacturing technologies. Moreover, ABB said that Niti Aayog will work with the company to prepare key sectors of the economy for digitisation, Internet of Things and artificial intelligence. The sectors include power, water utilities, food, heavy industries, transport (rail and metro), and infrastructure. ABB also said that the partnership will focus on the electric mobility segment.

The Commission is proposing a three-pronged approach to increase public and private investment in AI, prepare for socio-economic changes, and ensure an appropriate ethical and legal framework. This follows European leaders' call for a European approach on AI. Vice-President for the Digital Single Market Andrus Ansip said: "Just as the steam engine and electricity did in the past, AI is transforming our world. It presents new challenges that Europe should meet together in order for AI to succeed and work for everyone. We need to invest at least €20 billion by the end of 2020. The Commission is playing its part: today, we are giving a boost to researchers so that they can develop the next generation of AI technologies and applications, and to companies, so that they can embrace and incorporate them."

NITI Aayog, the government's premier policy-making body, is exploring the use of blockchain and AI technologies in areas such as education, health, and agriculture. Having completed three years since its formation, the NITI Aayog is now working towards the adoption of AI and Blockchain in the areas of governance as it believes that such technologies will result in significant benefits if deployed in these areas among others. In a note highlighting its achievements in the last three years, NITI Aayog said it "is working on a strategy paper for blockchain in India which will outline use cases as well as map out the schemes of Government of India that stand to benefit from the utilisation of the technology." A senior official at the Aayog, who did not wish to be identified, stated, "It is like a distributed ledger. Suppose, you have made 50000 photocopies of a book and you make some change in the original book, then the blockchain technique allows you to replicate the change in all the copies by changing just the original book. We are still exploring and believe this technology can have potentially beneficial uses in the areas of education, health, social sector etc."

The government will soon offer incentives to startups and venture funds that undertake application-oriented research on artificial intelligence across key sectors including banking, insurance, education, health, retail, and transportation. Financial allocation under the Atal Innovation Mission will be used to fund the programme on a nationwide scale and projects will be granted on the challenge mode, a senior government official told ET. The government is already providing support of up to Rs 10 crore to already established and upcoming new incubation centres depending on the set criteria laid under the Atal Innovation Mission, for which an allocation of Rs 500 crore was made in 2015-16. The original allocation under AIM for 2017-18 stood at Rs 112 crore, which has been revised to Rs 150 crore while Rs 200 crore has been allocated for 2018-19. "It has just been announced. Niti (Aayog) has been working on the subject for a while and will be coming out with a roadmap shortly," the official said requesting anonymity.

New Delhi:The government will soon offer incentives to startups and venture funds that undertake application-oriented research on artificial intelligence across key sectors including banking, insurance, education, health, retail and transportation. Financial allocation under the Atal Innovation Mission will be used to fund the programme on a nationwide scale and projects will be granted on the challenge mode, a senior government official told ET. The government is already providing support of up to Rs 10 crore to already established and upcoming new incubation centres depending on the set criteria laid under the Atal Innovation Mission, for which an allocation of 500 crore was made in 2015-16. The original allocation under AIM for 2017-18 stood at Rs 112 crore, which has been revised to Rs 150 crore while Rs 200 crore has been allocated for 2018-19. "It has just been announced. Niti (Aayog) has been working on the subject for a while and will be coming out with a roadmap shortly," the official said requesting anonymity.