AI has been in the radar of technological innovation for quite some time now, but it is over the last decade that AI has gained a revolutionary status as companies all over the globe are seeking to deploy AI in some form or the other.
The New Vantage Partners survey in 2019 found out that 92% of the world-wide survey participants were already investing big on AI. The same survey also reported that 21% of the survey participants including big names like AIG, Bank of China and Johnson & Johnson are investing over 500 million USD on ai impact on education.
The increasing urgency for deploying AI can be understood from the fact that automation is now a necessity and embracing the power of AI is vital for organizations in order to taste success in the era of IR 4.0
But where does India stand when it comes to AI and associated powerful technologies like Machine Learning and Deep Learning? Given the fact that India aims at complete digital transformation and build a multibillion-dollar digital economy, the country must strengthen its AI capabilities over all its industrial sectors.
What the Indian government is doing?
On 30th May, 2020, the government of India launched the national AI portal named INDIA ai with the aim of building the country’s most comprehensive AI ecosystem. This is a great step as it will provide a common platform for accessing AI resources in the country and also a platform for introducing government initiatives which will crucial in introducing AI in all the industrial domains of the country.
The government had envisioned the plan in 2018 only with NITI Aayog, India’s think tank publishing a paper on how AI can help India add 1 trillion USD to its economy provided full integration with AI can be achieved. Even before in 2017 the Commerce and Industry department had launched a task force on AI in order to transform the economy! Now, with the launch of the AI portal, the government is sure taking all the right steps.
How enthusiastic is the private sector of India about AI?
Accenture in a research report in 2019 had claimed that by 2035 India’s economy can receive about 957 billion USD if the full potential of AI can be realised in the country!
Obviously such calculations now need to be reanalysed given the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on India. However, things are actually not the grim when one takes a look at the number of AI start-ups in Indian cities like Bangalore and Pune and also the amount of investment India is receiving from top companies like Google, Amazon and Facebook.
The Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) reports that the Indian retail sector itself is expected to witness a massive growth and may even double itself by 2024 with an overall valuation of 1.4 trillion USD. This is where AI can be very useful as organizations are seeking to digitize owing to the challenges like broken supply chains amid the nationwide lockdown. Incorporating AI in the digital strategy of a business will be immensely beneficial for both the market and the industry as a whole. Realizing its immense potential, Facebook invested Rs 43,574 crore in in Reliance Jio platforms, which is the largest FDI on the technological sector of India!
The e-commerce sector is another industrial sector in India that is ripe with opportunities for AI driven strategies. For instance, Swiggy a Bangalore e-platform for food delivery services is already heavily reliant on AI for managing its mobile app, using chat bots to provide exquisite customer service and for a good marketing strategy. Other e-commerce ventures in India too are already utilizing AI as the Indian market is the biggest in the world!
Indian cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Delhi are also home to a number of successful AI based companies like Manthan, Haptik and SigTuple.
Challenges in embracing the power of AI in India
The main challenge in adopting AI in India is the lack of AI expertise and skilled manpower. This is why the government is providing good incentives for establishing Artificial intelligence institutes in India and also encouraging young graduates to acquire AI skills. Other challenges include lack of data or data sharing initiatives, lack of intensified AI research and low awareness.