IT and Industries Minister KTR delivered a keynote address at the Launch of AI4AI: Artificial Intelligence for Agricultural Innovation in collaboration with Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, India (C4IR), World Economic Forum.
During the session, Minister KTR said, “Telangana has clearly defined its vision to be a global leader in emerging technologies including AI and has made rapid strides towards achieving the vision. The Government of Telangana has declared 2020 as the Year of AI to accelerate AI readiness and develop a conducive AI innovation ecosystem in the state, opening new avenues of Artificial Intelligence led innovation for social impact – especially in the public sector.
As part of ‘2020 – Year of AI’, the Government of Telangana partnered with several reputed organizations from industry and academia and introduced several initiatives which are as following:
AI strategy for Telangana: In consultation with experts from industry, academia, startup community, civil society – we have developed a six-pronged AI strategy for Telangana.
Telangana’s AI Mission (T AIM): With a vision to position Telangana as a global hub for Artificial Intelligence and foster social innovation, we have launched T-AIM (Telangana’s AI Mission) – a dedicated body for AI specific initiatives in partnership with NASSCOM.
Launched Centre for Research in Applied AI (CRiAA): A organization with special focus on healthcare – in collaboration with Intel, IIIT Hyderabad and Public Health Foundation of India.
Establishing Centre for Responsible Deployment of Emerging Technologies (CRDET), in collaboration with Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution, India, World Economic Forum. Today’s launch of AI4AI: AI for Agricultural Innovation is the first project of the centre.
Quoting CM KCR, Minister KTR said “Any technology that is not used to improve the lives of common people is of least relevance. The focus of our state should be using these technologies to improve the life of a common man.”
Minister KTR stated that agriculture has been one of the most important sectors for the government of Telangana and it is the right time to bring digital technology led revolution in this sector. “We strongly feel that AI will offer immense possibilities for the farmers, governments and all other stakeholders of the ecosystem,” he added.
After the launch of AI4AI, Minister KTR said, “At this juncture, I with an euphoric sense of hope and passion look forward to the partnership with an organization like World Economic Forum, which brings in a robust community of experts and years of experience, to lead this government-led agritech innovation.
The team from Center for 4th Industrial Revolution (C4IR), WEF India has worked closely with PJTSAU, agricultural research university and Telangana government’s ITE&C Department to identify high impact use cases of AI – which would benefit both the farmers and the policymakers.
Talking at the session, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant appreciated the Telangana Government in taking the lead in the AI Space. “We are happy to be partnering with Telangana in piloting many AI in Agriculture initiatives. There is no better place than Telangana in our country and we are happy to work with Minister KTR,” he said.
A line of dignitaries including J Satyanarayana, Chief Advisor, World Economic Forum, Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, India, Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer, NITI Aayog, Murat Sönmez, Managing Director, World Economic Forum LLC, Vivek Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India, Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India, participated in the virtual session.
