MeitY has emerged as the leading voice for e-development in India, spearheading the country’s transformation into a developed nation and empowered society. This has been achieved through a range of initiatives and subsidiary organizations, including the National Informatics Centre, Unique Identification Authority of India, Digital India Mission, Software Technology Parks of India, National E-Governance Division, MyGov, and DigiLocker.
MeitY is leading the way in utilizing these potent technologies to promote socio-economic empowerment and inclusion in light of the rise of emerging technologies like AI, ML, Blockchain, IoT, robotics, and big data. MeitY has developed and launched a number of projects and initiatives in 2023 in an effort to capitalize on this enormous technological advancement in AI for financial success and to establish itself as a major player in the field. These are a few of MeitY’s artificial intelligence projects for 2023.
GPAI Summit 2023: To direct the appropriate development and application of AI, GPAI is a multistakeholder effort that was founded in June 2020 with 15 members. The initiative’s goal is to close the knowledge gap between AI theory and practice by funding innovative studies and practical endeavors that uphold democratic principles, economic expansion, and human rights. India became the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence’s important leader when it moved up from Incoming Support Chair in 2022–2023 to Lead Chair in December 2023, for a one-year term. As host of the three-day GPAI Summit from December 12–14, 2023, India’s AI leadership achieved new heights as all 29 members came together to define the responsible AI landscape.
As India hosted the prestigious GPAI Summit, New Delhi buzzed with the most recent AI discussions. Over 22,000 attendees were given access to a lively forum for AI exploration thanks to the over 30 seminars that brought together international AI experts. The influential gathering sparked a discussion about responsible AI development. The occasion also featured developments in AI applications for a range of industries, including agriculture and healthcare. The “New Delhi Declaration,” which reiterated the commitment of all GPAI members to responsible and inclusive AI development, was adopted as the summit’s final product.
The Multistakeholder Expert Group (also known as the MEG) brings together four expert working groups that focus on responsible artificial intelligence, data governance, the future of work, and innovation and commercialization. The MEG promotes the safe, ethical, and responsible deployment of advanced artificial intelligence systems by evaluating the scientific, technological, and socioeconomic data pertinent to comprehending these systems and their effects.
The MEG endeavors to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals through the ethical development of AI, grounded in the ideals of inclusivity, diversity, creativity, and economic growth.
National AI Program: To stimulate the AI innovation ecosystem in India, the Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) launches the National Program on AI, currently known as India AI. The goal of these programs is to create the fundamental framework for a strong AI innovation ecosystem, which will then act as active catalysts for the nation’s AI startup and research scene. The Hon’ble Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and the MeitY sponsored a stakeholder discussion to discuss the vision, roadmap, and future directions for India AI and its pillars. The goal was to enable participatory and collaborative program design and implementation. Abhishek Sigh, President and CEO of NeGD, gave an overview of the proceedings. India AI aims to establish itself as a global leader in AI. It will grow and stimulate the startup and innovation ecosystem for AI. By utilizing AI, the endeavor will bring about a significant social revolution. For India and the rest of the globe, India AI will provide a paradigm of ethical and responsible AI. Additionally, it will prepare the Indian labor force for the AI revolution.
The inaugural MeitY Chair on Artificial Intelligence in India: As the event’s principal guest, Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary of MeitY, Government of India, revealed a rupee 5 crore budget for the creation of India’s first MeitY Chair on Artificial Intelligence at the esteemed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur. This is seen as a turning point in the innovation and advancement of AI research in India. The institute was approved to begin a state-of-the-art program aimed at perception and cognitive engineering with a considerable sum of money—155 crores of rupees.
Booklet on generative AI: This year, MeitY published the booklet on generative AI, which was created with input from several roundtables arranged by the national AI Portal, INDIAai. Roundtables with ecosystem participants and stakeholders to comprehend the current state of generative AI, moral and legal issues, and ways to lessen the negative effects these models may have on society. The inaugural roundtable, which examined the state of generative AI today and examined the current excitement around the topic, was a huge success and took place on January 31, 2023. The second roundtable, which examined the need for legal frameworks, policy approaches, and a closer examination of the ethical issues surrounding generative AI, was held on February 28, 2023. The topic of the third roundtable, which took place on April 24, 2023, from 2 to 3 p.m. IST, was the potential for generative AI in India, particularly in terms of its potential economic impact and the ways in which it can change certain industries and segments of the national economy.
