Despite being viewed as a technology of the future, artificial intelligence (AI) has already impacted our daily lives in several ways. Right from the time we wake up, till we go to bed, AI is constantly a part of our lives in forms like voice assistants, online banking, OTT, face IDs among others. Shaping global standards for AI A number of standards covering significant AI issues are now being developed by the ISO/IEC committee for artificial intelligence under the working title ISO/IEC 42001 ISO/IEC DIS 42001 – Information technology -- Artificial intelligence -- Management system. The ISO/IEC 42001 standard, which is being developed by 50 countries, will be essential for improving AI governance and accountability globally. ISO/IEC standardisation brings together the opinions of all relevant stakeholder groups, including SMEs, academia, civil society, and many more.

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence (AI) is undoubtedly one of humanity's most innovative technologies today. Considering AI's capacity to totally alter and transform industries and organisations, everyone should be familiar with the fundamentals of this rapidly growing discipline and assess its significance toward their own life, career, and business. But where can you find accurate and reliable information and news on AI in India? The Indian government recognises and believes in the power and reach of artificial intelligence (AI) and thus created a dedicated AI platform in the country, 'INDIAai'. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), the National e-Governance Division (NeGD), and the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) collaborated to bring the National AI site up, which can be accessed by all at indiaai.gov.in.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday said it will set up centres for transformational artificial intelligence (AI) that will collaborate with academia and industry to develop AI-based solutions. Addressing a virtual'AI India Conclave', organised by FICCIi jointly with MeitY, Abhishek Singh, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Digital India Corporation (DIC), President and CEO, National e-Governance Division (NeGD) and, CEO, MyGov, MeitY, said that AI skilling and reskilling and its role in employment generation is important and highlighted the various initiatives launched by the government pertaining to AI. "To foster a robust AI ecosystem in India, the government's role is to enable a data governance mechanism via open data portals, with adequate safeguards for privacy to enable innovation by researchers and entrepreneurs to build upon and create products for better services," he said. A lot of AI research is being done in all academic institutions, but still the country lags far behind China and the US when it comes to AI research, he said, adding that'there are certain initiatives that have been taken but we need to go further'. Singh said the Department of Science and Technology too has set up Technology Innovation Hubs under National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems. "But under the national programme on AI what is being thought of is that the India centres for transformational AI will be set up. These centres will be set up in partnership with the industry and academia. The solution which is developed from the exercise will be assessed for scaling up across the country," Singh added.

National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India (GOI), Intel, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) recently held its seventh session, on'Demystifying Deep Learning', under the Digital India Dialogues Building Capacities. This session was attended by 95 government officials, from 10 ministries. The participation of the Intel experts, under the company's Digital Readiness portfolio, brings relevant industry experience and use case studies to these webinars aimed at policy makers. Intel's Digital Readiness for Leaders program aims to leverage AI-led expertise by engaging government officials and leaders in immersive workshops led by subject matter experts to help them grasp the practical application of emerging technologies. The session provided an insight into the workings of Deep Learning (DL) and how its application, and integration can play a key role in creating a framework to help improve services offered to the citizens.

India will see the breakthrough application of artificial intelligence (AI) in various areas including the National Language Translation Mission, said Infosys Chairman Nandan Nilekani. Nilekani said this during a fireside chat with Ajay Sawhney, secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and Debjani Ghosh, president of IT industry body Nasscom. The interaction was organized by INDIAai, a national AI portal set up by MeitY, National E-Governance Division, and Nasscom. "The work that MeitY is doing on the national language translation mission is a disruptive opportunity," Nilekani said. "India is unique in the fact that it has such a large number of languages, all co-mingling, and most Indians speak two to three languages and so on. Creating the world's best language capability, whether its speech, text to speech, whether its language to language, I think India is well placed to show the world how to do it," he added.

The Indian government yesterday stated the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portal, formed by National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and backed from National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is now live. The portal's objective is to function as a one-stop platform for all AI-related advancements in India, with sharing of useful resources like articles, investment funding news for AI startup, AI companies and educational firms on AI in India. The portal will also distribute documents, case studies, research reports etc, and provide learning and new job roles related to AI. The portal brings together ideas and thought leadership from Indian government stakeholders including Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), NITI Aayog, NASSCOM, along with state governments. The National AI Portal INDIAai is now live!

There has been a slew of newer sector-specific strategy documents in India that have discussed the role of artificial intelligence as a disruptive technological force in the future. But these strategy documents mentioning AI need to do more to highlight its implications for access to services in a particular sector. Researchers need to bring specificity in not just impact, but also applications and ethics into their analysis. As per the report of the'Steering Committee on Fintech Related Issues' released in September, "AI is expected to transform the manner in delivery of such (financial) services". The roadmap for'Health System for a New India' released by Niti Aayog on 18 November mentions the need to keep up with global technological changes such as AI to "augment clinicians' knowledge".

There has been a slew of newer sector-specific strategy documents in India that have discussed the role of artificial intelligence as a disruptive technological force in the future. But these strategy documents mentioning AI need to do more to highlight its implications for access to services in a particular sector. Researchers need to bring specificity in not just impact, but also applications and ethics into their analysis. As per the report of the'Steering Committee on Fintech Related Issues' released in September, "AI is expected to transform the manner in delivery of such (financial) services". The roadmap for'Health System for a New India' released by Niti Aayog on 18 November mentions the need to keep up with global technological changes such as AI to "augment clinicians' knowledge".

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.

The Modi 2.0 is all set to launch a national Artificial Intelligence (AI) Programme soon, which will see the formation of a task force under Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan to identify projects and initiatives in which to implement the AI technology. The policy will also include a national artificial intelligence centre, which has been delayed because of a long-standing tiff between NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on which will be the department that will anchor the project. The proposed policy and the centre could finally see the light of day as the finance ministry has cleared the NITI Aayog's Rs 7,000-crore plan. "The expenditure finance committee has cleared the spending of Rs 7,000 crore till 2024-25. The NITI Aayog is likely to be the line ministry for this initiative. The Cabinet note is being circulated by NITI Aayog and is likely to be cleared soon," said a government official.