Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal today said that if India truly aspires to be a developed nation by 2047, as articulated by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech on 15 August 2022, Artificial Intelligence will help the country reach that destination and bring prosperity to every citizen of this country. He was addressing the 3rd edition of Global Artificial Intelligence Summit & Awards.

Quoting Prime Minister Modi, “Any society which does not innovate, stagnates”, Shri Goyal said Artificial intelligence will truly be a catalyst in India's development journey. He said that ‘The Make in India’ program when juxtaposed with AI technology, will enable India to become the factory of the world providing both equipment and technology to the world. He noted that the huge talent pool available in the country will definitely help in exploring newer ways to take AI in every sector of economic activity. The Minister appreciated the Department of Science and Technology for their wonderful work in supporting the efforts of the scientific community of the country over the years, and particularly during the challenging times of Covid.  

Shri Goyal said that the Government is using AI to redefine the way it works. He cited the example of Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP), which is leveraging AI to improve the entire logistics ecosystem of the country. Similarly initiatives like PM Gatishakti National Master Plan, which aims at developing our infrastructure smarter; ONDC, which aims at democratising E commerce, GeM which has made a significant impact for government procurement - all these are leveraging Artificial Intellegence to bring efficiency and better delivery of services.

Elaborating on the use of AI, Shri Goyal said that ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana’, a major initiative of the Government that was launched during covid pandemic to provide additional food security to over 80 crore people, is also using AI in many ways - to help understand the needs and behaviour patterns of beneficiaries and get feedback about the performance of the Fair Price Shops. It helps in assessing which shops are performing efficiently and providing good services to beneficiaries, he said. One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) uses AI and can help us to analyse the mobility patterns of our migrant workforce, he added.

Shri Goyal remarked that the Artificial intelligence revolution is here to stay and added that with the meaningful contribution by Industry, startups, incubators and  academia, India is going to emerge as the hub of the artificial intelligence revolution across the world. He urged the young minds to inculcate the spirit of inquiry and start thinking of different ways the AI technologies can be harnessed to bring prosperity in our day to day life. He asked them to explore how AI can play a crucial role in empowering the lives of farmers, fishermen and the MSME sector.

The third AI Summit has been organised by AICRA and is focusing on the areas of defence, healthcare, agriculture, smartcities, mobility and education in partnership with the government. The aim is to develop a roadmap on how to use AI ecosystem and startups for the benefit of society. The 3rd Annual conference has set up multidisciplinary groups to break down the silos in which different stakeholders have been working and to find technological solutions for the key sectors of our society.

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AD/KP/MS