Shortage of Skilled Professional Remains a Challenge in AI Adoption, Says Principal Scientific Advisory Ajay Sood

Even as India advances in AI development, shortage of skilled personals continues to remain a challenge said Professor Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Advisory, Government of India. He stated that his challenge is something that is being addressed by the IndiaAI mission.

"Privacy, security and ethical considerations also remain a concern. For the same, a committee was also formed and an action plan was prepared for the same. Soon, India will launch the final version," he said.

He also added that the country is living in an era where AI is reshaping our quality of life in all fields.

Sood was speaking at an event in New Delhi, which was celebrating one year of the IndiaAI mission. The event saw the launch of several initiates by the government, including AI Kosha - IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Compute Portal for accessing GPUs.

Further, the government also announced the name of the top 30 AI applications from the IndiaAI Innovation Challenge across 5 themes.

The IndiaAI Mission is a national initiative launched by the central government with a budget of Rs 10,372 crore, approved by the Cabinet in 2023 and officially announced on March 7, 2024.

The mission intends to establish India as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI). Among other things, the mission aims to, “democratising computing access, enhancing data quality, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting top AI talent, enabling industry collaboration, providing startup risk capital, ensuring socially impactful AI projects, and promoting ethical AI.”

The latest union budget 2-25-26 also saw an allocation of Rs 2,000 crore in the mission, indicating the government’s efforts to focus on building AI infrastructure in the country. This is nearly a fifth of the scheme’s Rs 10,370 crore outlay.

The government also decided to set a centre of excellence in artificial intelligence (AI) for education. Speaking about the same in the Budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “I had announced three Centres of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for agriculture, health, and sustainable cities in 2023. Now a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence for education will be set up with a total outlay of Rs 500 crore.”