Gopalakrishnan S, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India today said that Artificial Intelligence (A.I) and other Frontier Technologies bridges the gap and reduces the accessibility issues that are present in the country.

Speaking at 'Frontier Technologies Conclave 2019' on the theme 'A.I. Readiness of India & Way Forward' organized by FICCI jointly with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India, Gopalakrishnan highlighted the government?s vision in developing the Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) ecosystem in India. He said that A.I. and Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are rapidly influencing the digital ecosystem around us.

He further added that with advances in data collection and aggregation, and further analytics processing power of Cyber Physical Systems, these technologies present new opportunities for digital transformation around the world.

M.S. Rao IAS, President & Chief Executive Officer, National eGovernance Division, Ministry of Electronics and IT, Government of India said "MeitY though the National Programme on A.I. will effectively engage with all the stakeholders towards A.I. solution for the benefits of citizen and the holistic development of our nation".

Underlining the crucial role of academia and research in the areas of Artificial Intelligence and Cyber Physical Systems, S.N. Tripathi, Director, Indian Institute of Public Administration while speaking on the topic ?The scope of A.I. as a Socio-Economic Tool? said, "Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) is the single most effective step taken by the Government of India to go truly Digital."

U.B. Desai, Director, IIT Hyderabad emphasized the need for proactiveness from India to embrace Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. He said, "Investment is the crucial factor for India to rapidly develop an AI ecosystem which can be globally competitive in this Digital Era."

Lovneesh Chanana, Vice President (Digital Government), Asia Pacific and Japan said, "Building on the foundation of Digital India, we are entering the phase of building a Digitally Intelligent Nation now.

The growing importance of data economy and the technology developments around artificial intelligence have opened new opportunities for socio-economic growth as well as challenges of ensuring ethical and trustworthy use of systems that learn."

Virat Bhatia, Chairman, ICT and Digital Economy Committee, FICCI said, "Large scale technology adoption has not only disrupted the industry but also brought a tectonic shift in the consumer behaviour and preferences."

Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India said, "As a rapidly growing economy with the second largest population in the world, India has a significant stake in A.I. revolution."

She further added, "While the Indian A.I. ecosystem continues to mature and we look to a future powered by a partnership between computers and humans, it's important to address the underlying ethical challenges head-on. As a society, we have a shared responsibility for creating trusted AI systems."