Lok Sabha Question No. 2740 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-07
Subject: Research and Development
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Satpal Brahamchari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2740

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 07.08.2024

## RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

## 2740.    SHRI SATPAL BRAHAMCHARI:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Research  and  Development  of  Electronics  and Information Technology Sector is being neglected in the country;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and if not, the justification thereto;
- (c) whether the Government has initiated any scheme to promote Research and Development in Electronics and Information Technology sector;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e)  the  contribution  of  Digital  Public  Infrastructure  (DPI)  in  the  development and  financial inclusion of the country along with the details thereof?

## ANSWER

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

(a)  to  (e):  Ministry  of  Electronics  and  Information  Technology  ('MeitY')  is  promoting research and development in Electronics and Information Technology in the country through its Digital India Program. Government supports the R&D ecosystem which includes capacity building,  creation  of  infrastructure  for  research  and  through  suitable  policy  intervention  at academia/Research organization/ startups and industry.

The initiatives taken by Government to promote research and development in 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.

Digital  Public  Infrastructures  (DPIs)  such  as  Aadhaar,  Unified  Payment  Interface  (UPI), DigiLocker, Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance (UMANG), etc., solution have been developed aimed at enhancing accessibility, efficiency, and inclusivity. These have significantly  contributed  towards  financial  inclusion  at  grass  root  level  by  bringing  more untapped populations into the formal financial system. It is estimated that DPIshave brought down KYC (Know Your Customer) costs from Rs 1 thousand to Rs 6 from about Rs 1,000.

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