Artificial Intelligence will Help the Country Reach that Destination and Bring Prosperity to Every Citizen of this Country, says Piyush Goyal

· Artificial Intelligence to act as a catalyst in India's development journey and help realise goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047

· Government using AI to redefine the way it works

· ‘Make in India’ initiative juxtaposed with AI technology, will enable India to become the factory of the world, says Mr. Goyal

· AI being used to effectively distribute food to the poor under PMGKY, monitor performance of fair price shops, help map needs of the poor

· Goyal urges young minds to explore new ways of harnessing AI technologies for empowering the society

· Goyal addresses 3rd edition of Global Artificial Intelligence Summit & Awards

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal on 7 October, 2022 said that if India truly aspires to be a developed nation by 2047, as articulated by Prime Minister 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”, Mr. 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.

Mr. 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, Mr. 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.

Mr. 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.