Lok Sabha Question No. 2678 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-07
Subject: Digital Public Infrastructure and AI
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Harish Chandra Meena, Dr. Amar Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2678

TO BE ANSWERED ON:  07.08.2024

## DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND AI

## 2678.  DR. AMAR SINGH: SHRI HARISH CHANDRA MEENA:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  &  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  defined  'Digital  Public  Infrastructure'  (DPI)  and  'digital public goods', if so, the details thereof;

(b)  whether  the  government  is  aware  of  the  DPI  projects  launched/initiated/recognised  as Digital  Public  Infrastructure(DPI)  between  January  2020  and  July  2024,  if  so,  the  details thereof;

(c)  whether  consultation  with  stakeholders  and  public  was  conducted  before  creating  the platform, if so, the details thereof; and

(d)  whether  the  policy  or  regulation  made  by  the  Government  covers  the  use  of  Artificial Intelligence (AI) by public authorities and/or law enforcement agencies?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a)  to  (d):Digital  Public  Infrastructure  (DPI)  and  Digital  Public  Goods  (DPG)  are  used interchangeably  in  general.  They  are  the  set  of  shared,  secure  and  interoperable  digital systems  that  can  be  built  on  open  standards  and  specifications  to  deliver  and  provide equitable  access  to  public  and  private  services  at  population  scale.The  prominent  DPIsare: Aadhaar, UPI (Unified Payment Interface), DigiLocker, UMANG  (Unified Mobile Application  for  New-age  Governance),  DIKSHA  (Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge Sharing), E-Sanjeevani, Aarogya Setu, GEM (Government e-Marketplace), e-Office, Poshan Tracker,  and  E-Courts  etc.For  capturing  the  stakeholders'  requirements  and  to  incorporate their  suggestions  and  feedback,  multiple  stakeholder  consultations  have  been  organized. Further,these  DPIs  also  have  a  feedback  mechanism  wherein  feedback  is  collected  and factored-in appropriately for improvement.

The  initiatives  taken  by  Government  to  promote  research  and  development  in  AI  are  as follows:

- (i) IndiaAI Mission: The Cabinet has approved the IndiaAI Mission at a total outlay of Rs. 10,371.92 Crores as a comprehensive  programme  for  leveraging  transformative technologies to foster inclusion, innovation and adoption for social impact as well as to make India a global leader in the Al space and ensure responsible and transformational use of Al for all. The India AI mission seeks to foster responsible and inclusive growth within India's AI landscape by democratizing access to computing resources, enhancing  data  quality,  nurturing  homegrown  AI  expertise,  attracting  top  talent, fostering industry partnerships, supporting startup ventures, promoting socially impactful AI projects, and emphasizing ethical practices in AI.
- (ii) MeitY has launched Mission Digital India Bhashini in the year 2022 with an outlay of Rs  495.51  crore  for  three-year  duration  to  develop  core  language  technologies  for speech and text translation for 22 scheduled Indian languages in open source to help transcend language barriers in the digital medium. A national public digital platform http://bhashini.gov.in has been developed to proliferate language technology solutions.
- (iii) MeitY has initiated 'FutureSkills PRIME' a programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability in 10 new/emerging technologies. These include AI, Blockchain,  Robotics,  Big  Data  &  Analytics,  IoT,  Virtual  Reality,  Cybersecurity, Cloud Computing, 3D Printing and Web 3.0.
- (iv) Government has initiated 'Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme' with the objective to enhance the number of PhDs in Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) and IT/IT Enabled Services (IT/ITES) sectors including AI and Emerging Technologies.
- (v) National  Mission  on  Interdisciplinary  Cyber  Physical  Systems  (NM-ICPS):  The Mission was approved by the Union Cabinet in 2018 with a total outlay of  Rs.3,660 Crores.  With  an  aim  for  convergence  with  all  stakeholders  by  establishing  strong linkages between academia, industry, Government and International Organizations. The Mission  is  working  with  all  the  concerned  Ministries/  Departments  to  identify  their technology  needs,  develop  solutions  and  technical  support.  The  Mission  aims  at development  of  technology  platforms  to  carry  out  R&D,  Translational  Research, Product Development, Incubating & Supporting Start-ups as well as Commercialization.
- (vi) National  Supercomputing  Mission:  The  mission  was  launched  in  2015,  to  foster  a robust ecosystem in High-Performance Computing (HPC). Under NSM, more than 30 Peta-Flop  (1015)  capacity  supercomputers  have  been  deployed  across  academic institutions,  R&D  labs  like  IISc,  IITs,  etc.  enabling  over  8000  researches  from  200 institutes  to  execute  more  than  94  lakh  application  codes.  These  supercomputers  are pivotal  in  developing  national-level  applications  in  genomics,  drug  discovery,  flood forecasting,  disaster  management,  and  seismic  data  processing.  Capacity  building efforts have trained over 20,000 individuals in HPC and AI. To become 'Atmanirbhar' (self-reliant) in HPC  and  AI,  development  of  indigenous  supercomputing  subcomponents  i.e.  Server  Board,  High  Speed  Interconnect,  Complete  Software  Stack, Direct  contact  liquid  Cooling  (DCLC)  cooling  technology  etc.  have  been  undertaken through the mission.

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