The government is expected to outline a policy framework for artificial intelligence (AI) at the annual India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2024 beginning Tuesday, officials said. Apart from industry participation, the four-day event is set to witness participation and booths from over 15 ministries, which will also showcase how AI is being integrated into their departments, they added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to focus on technology during his inaugural address, they added. “The theme has moved from 5G to the next set of technologies, and AI is at the top of that list. At the 2022 event, the PM had launched 5G services in India, while 14 government departments had showcased industry use cases for 5G that were being deployed. The same is being done for AI this year,” a senior Department of Telecommunication (DoT) official said.
The government may also shed light on whether it is considering the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) recommendations to create an independent statutory authority to ensure the development of responsible AI and regulate its use cases in India. Last year, Trai had proposed an Artificial Intelligence and Data Authority of India (AIDAI) for the same. While the Centre has launched initiatives such as ‘AI for All’ and the National AI Strategy to harness AI for societal benefit, inter-ministerial talks have increasingly highlighted the need to consolidate these into a policy for AI.
The event aims to produce a thought paper on the subject, IMC Ramakrishna P said. “The evolution of AI and Gen AI is a leading global phenomenon today, and the world is just beginning to realise its potential and its realm of impact. Today, India is at the centre stage of technology evolution and plays a critical role,” he said.
IMC 2024 is expected to host over 50 global and Indian speakers discussing multiple facets of AI and Gen AI across 11 diverse discussion panels during the four days of the event. Discussions at the telecom and tech meet are expected to primarily focus on AI and generative AI, delving into themes like AI in networks, AI in chipsets, and ethical AI.
Aspire, the flagship start-up programme introduced in the last edition, will be bigger this year, organisers say. The Aspire programme will feature over 140 start-ups focusing on AI-based applications across various industries.
In the telecom space, while operators have been dabbling with artificial intelligence (AI) for at least five years, concentrated efforts significantly picked up ahead of the nationwide 5G rollout in October 2022. All three private sector telecom service providers—Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, and Vodafone Idea (Vi)—have confirmed they are using AI tools to better map network expansion, engineering, and monitor user issues and complaints.
Global standards eyed
Billed by the government as India’s premier technology event, IMC is being held this year alongside two key global telecom meetings in Delhi. India will be hosting the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA 2024) from October 15-24, 2024, preceded by the Global Standards Symposium (GSS 2024). The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialised United Nations agency for information and communication technologies of which India is a part, conducts the WTSA every four years to plan its standardisation programme.
The government believes India’s participation in the meetings is crucial for shaping global agendas in emerging technologies such as AI, 6G, Internet of Things, satellite communications, and quantum computing. A joint daylong session on ‘AI for Good’, where experts and delegates from around the world will deliberate on the subject, will be organised by IMC and ITU.
India has increasingly asserted its role in global discussions on AI, hosting the Global India AI Summit in New Delhi back in July, which assembled over 12,000 global AI experts, practitioners, and delegates from 50 countries.
First Published: Oct 14 2024 | 7:48 PM IST
