The pandemic has forced organisations, businesses and academia around the globe to make a technological shift. Joining the efforts, the Government of India has been doing a lot of advancement in the case of emerging technologies. As a matter of fact, the increasing cases of COVID pandemic leading to a massive economic downfall has pushed the government of the country to take more such AI initiatives in order to grow the economy and businesses. 

Below here, we have curated a list of top 10 AI collaborations, in no particular order, between the Government of India and tech giants in 2020.

National Program for the Youth 

Keeping youth in mind, in May, the Government of India collaborated with the National e-Governance Division, Ministry of Electronics & IT along with Intel India to launch a national program for the youth. Known as Responsible AI for Youth, this program aims to give the young students a platform to develop appropriate new age tech mind-set. 

Artificial Intelligence Challenge

In another attempt, the government partnered with the industry to help some the best of AI startups showcase their products to the world. For this, as a part of Aatmanibhar Bharat initiative amid COVID pandemic, in September, the Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (MeitY) launched a platform for AI Solution challenge to boost Indian startups and tech entrepreneurs. The challenge was aimed at increasing innovations in various areas, including healthcare, education, agriculture, NLP, among others.

Govt. Launches AI Website

Though this initiative is not associated with any tech giants, yet it is worthy of being in this list. In June, the Government of India launched the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Portal known as INDIAai. Formed by Nasscom and backed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the portal functions as a one-stop platform for all the AI-related advancements in India, along with sharing of important resources such as articles, as well as information on AI-based companies and educational firms in India.

COVID-19 Live Monitoring App At Telangana 

Talking about state governments — the Government of Telangana officially declared 2020 as the year of AI. 

In April, the government collaborated with Vera Smart Healthcare, a health-tech startup and announced the deployment of the first automated ‘COVID-19 Monitoring System App’ for the state. With key features like geotagging and GPS tracking of the home-quarantined person, the app has been designed to ensure that the infected person is not breaching the law of quarantine. 

Telangana To Launch Applied AI Research Centre

In October, once again the government joined hands with the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H), the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Intel India to launch INAI, which is an Applied AI Research Centre. According to sources, INAI is an initiative that applies AI to population-scale problems in the Indian context. The centre has also been established to identify and solve challenges in the healthcare and smart mobility segments through strong ecosystem collaboration. It will act as a catalyst to accelerate India’s leadership in AI by driving innovation and entrepreneurship, creating national assets and more.

Karnataka Govt. Launches AI-Driven Hospital Pods

Making its way, in August, the Karnataka Govt. launched AI-driven hospital pods to treat COVID-19 patients. The pods are movable capsules that are infused with artificial intelligence to prevent the spread of contagious diseases such as COVID-19, TB, among others. The AI-driven hospital pods have been developed by Bengaluru-based firm called Vevra in association with Portugal-based healthcare Internet of Things InnoWave Group. The AI pods will have control over the quality of air that is being circulated around the room with installations such as UVC lights, high-end exhaust system, among others. 

Kerala Govt. Launches AI Course 

In an attempt to bridge the skills gap of the industry, in July, the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme of the Higher Education Department in Kerala launched a 776-hours long AI Course. The course is aimed at creating skilled professionals who can fill the demand in areas of data science, AI and ML. 

The AI Machine Learning Developer Programme for Graduates will help gain practical knowledge and prepare learners for new-age jobs such as AI/ML scientist, data scientists, ML engineer, among others. According to sources, experts from the tech industry will lead the sessions which will be offered through a proven pedagogy of ‘blended learning’.

IBM To Set Up AI CoE

Joining the industry, IBM has also participated heavily with their expertise and innovations. In October, Arvind Krishna, the CEO of IBM, while speaking at the RAISE 2020, announced the setting up of the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence in partnership with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM). Along with that, IBM India has also collaborated with the Karnataka Government and Niti Aayog to deploy precision AI-based agriculture solutions for helping farmers to make better decisions. 

Data Analytics Centre To Fight COVID-19 Pandemic

In April, the Govt. Of Tamil Nadu has partnered with HCL to set up a Data Analytics Centre to strengthen the state’s disaster management efforts. With this partnership, the government aimed to set up a Disaster Management – Data Analytics Center to fight off the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the news, this data trend will be displayed live to help the government make future decisions and decide the degree of response needed for each district.

Data Centre Park In Chennai

Along with that, in July, the Tamil Nadu Government once again signed an MoU with Yotta Infrastructure, a Hiranandani Group subsidiary and a managed data centre service provider to set up a Data Centre Park in Chennai. According to sources, the data centre which will be built on a 13-acre campus at Hiranandani Parks on the Singaperumal – Oragadam highway will have a total of four data centre buildings with a capacity of 20000 racks and total power load of approximately 150-240 MW.