In June 2018, National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog), a public policy think tank under the government of India released the “National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence”. Though not a formal national policy, this document seeks to provide guidance on how a can leverage the transformative technologies to ensure social and inclusive growth.
Broadly, the strategy document lays down the following three objectives:
- Leveraging AI for economic growth
- Leveraging AI for social development and inclusive growth
- Developing India as a AI “Garage” for emerging and developing economies
As such NITI Aayog focuses on the following five sectors since they anticipates these sectors to derive maximum benefit from AI in solving societal needs:
- Healthcare: increased access and affordability of quality healthcare,
- Agriculture: enhanced farmers’ income, increased farm productivity and reduction of wastage,
- Education: improved access and quality of education,
- Smart Cities and Infrastructure: efficient and connectivity for the burgeoning urban population, and
- Smart Mobility and Transportation: smarter and safer modes of transportation and better traffic and congestion problems.