Tamil Nadu flags off Global AI Summit’s first bootcamp

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) under the guidance of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will be organizing the first Global AI Summit in India - RAISE 2020. RAISE stands for ‘RESPONSIBLE AI FOR SOCIAL EMPOWERMENT’ with a focus on AI for Social Transformation, Inclusion, and Empowerment.

The Global AI Summit - RAISE 2020 – which was slated to be held in New Delhi on April 10^th now stands postponed to the tentative month of August 2020 in view of the epidemic spread of Coronavirus across several nations. But as planned the bootcamps and roadshows to the summit will be taking place in all the partnering states of India. The summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and charter a course to use AI for inclusive growth in key areas like Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility amongst other sectors.

Being proactive among all the Indian states, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency (TNeGA) took the lead to organize the first bootcamp for the ‘Development of startup ecosystem for social transformation on AI’ in Chennai on March 4th in the run-up to RAISE 2020 summit.

TNeGA in close coordination with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) brought together government representatives, industry, startups & academia to the forum to project how AI can be responsibly deployed to bring a socio-economic upliftment to India and at the same time set a stage for a curtain-raiser on RAISE 2020.

Chennai Boot Camp catalyzes participation to RAISE

The bootcamp was chaired by Hans Raj Verma, Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Information Technology Department, Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN), Abhishek Singh, IAS, President and CEO, National e-Governance Division (NeGD), and Santosh K Misra, IAS, CEO, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency & Commissioner of e-Governance.

Apart from the Government, Industry associations including FICCI, ASSOCHAM, and representatives from reputed institutions like IIT (M), Anna University, NIT-Trichy, PSG-Coimbatore, and Thyagaraja College-Madurai were present at the event.

In his inaugural address, Hans Raj Verma, ACS, Information and Technology Department, GoTN, said, “Artificial Intelligence has immense potential to bring a transformative change in the society. With India having a rough 65 crore youth population, it is important to bring a change that is rapid to cater to their urgent digital needs. AI as technology unlocks the ability to bring that rapid change in enhancing the livelihood of the communities at large and also empower them with employment opportunities. Today’s boot camp at Chennai is a testimony to the responsible use of AI. Tamil Nadu being the intellectual powerhouse of India has set the right tone to the global summit – RAISE 2020.”

Abhishek Singh, President and CEO, National e-Governance Division (NeGD), while addressing the gathering said, “We are overwhelmed with the participation from industry and academia in Tamil Nadu. We invite respective representatives to actively participate in the global summit. As the name suggests, RAISE 2020 aims to spearhead social transformation, inclusion, and empowerment. The summit will mark the beginning of an era which ensures AI-led solutions for the greater good of the society. Furthermore, we invite the startup community to participate in the AI Startup Pitchfest, as part of RAISE 2020.”

According to Singh, market reports from Deloitte and PwC have shown the global value of AI technology to be around $15 trillion. Predictions say that by 2035, the potential for AI-enabled businesses in India will be around $1 trillion. With this report in hand, he believes that India is in its best form with a strong government support and startup community to harness the potential of emerging technologies and AI.

Sharing another important update on behalf of the GoI, IAS officer Singh said that the government is making efforts to draft a Mission AI Program, which will mandate the necessities for India to be an ‘AI Garage of the World’ by bringing together all the concerned stakeholders and startups in formulating an effective implementation and execution of the mission. He also said that the government has taken proactive measures to introduce AI teaching modules at the school curriculum level and also in several skilling programs under NSDDC and NITI Aayog to develop a future-ready workforce.

Talking about the event, Santosh K Misra, IAS, CEO, Tamil Nadu e-Governance Agency & Commissioner of e-Governance, said, “We are proud to be hosting the first boot camp of RAISE 2020. TNeGA, along with the State and Central governments, is making huge strides towards adopting AI services to enhance the startup ecosystem. The in-depth discussion on social transformation through AI will prove to be fruitful for the industry members and other stakeholders present. Such events bolster the creativity and fervor of AI Startups. We look forward to be a part of RAISE 2020.”

Panel Discussion – Responsible use of AI

An intensive and knowledge-filled panel discussion moderated by Abhishek Singh and Santosh Misra with Raj Cherubal, CEO, Chennai Smart City, Prof. B. Ravindran, IIT-M, S. Mahalingam, Former CFO Tata Consultancy Services, and Pradeep Gulipalli of Tiger Analytics as dignitaries unraveled on how AI can bring significant changes to the society. The dignitaries enlightened the audience on the pitfalls of AI deployment, its scope at large scale and how India is positioned to harness the technology in combination with other emerging technologies.

Startups invited to apply for RAISE 2020

The RAISE 2020 Summit will feature some of the most exciting global startups working in Artificial Intelligence related fields. It will be a chance for startups to showcase ideas that present great potential in accelerating inclusive growth. GoI is welcoming applications from all over the world and the winning entries will be selected by a panel of eminent international thought-leaders. Finalists will get a chance to share their work at RAISE 2020, and get live feedback from leading luminaries and attendees at a special Startup Pitchfest. Through multiple events such as the AI Startup Pitchfest, AI Startup Theater, and The AI Startup Awards, the event focuses on nurturing talent by exposure, recognition, and guidance.

AI Startup Pitchfest: AI Startup Pitchfest will be a hub for AI startups-investors-enterprises networking and pitching for investment or looking for targeted customers. AI Startup Pitchfest offers an exclusive opportunity for startups to showcase their products, expertise, and network with global investors.

AI Startup Theater: The AI Startup Theater will provide a platform for identified startups to exhibit, interact and network with summit delegates in an open space at one commonplace.

AI Startup Awards: AI Startup Awards will be given to identified startups in the field of Artificial Intelligence for excellence in identified sectors. The Awards seek to recognize and felicitate startups pioneering, developing, harnessing and exploiting AI to empower everyday solutions.