Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani said on Monday that data is a vital national resource that will act as a raw material for development powered by artificial intelligence (AI). He said that India will have an advantage over its peers in the future due to its huge digital capital.
“In the past, nations have competed for physical capital, financial capital, human capital, and intellectual capital. But, in the coming decades, nations will increasingly compete in digital capital, “Ambani said at the Raise 2020 Summit (Responsible AI for Social Empowerment, 2020).
The head of India’s most valuable company said artificial intelligence is indispensable for India’s rendezvous with digital destiny, and expressed confidence in the Center that it would introduce a regulatory framework for data protection and privacy.
“We are confident that the government will introduce some data regulatory framework to protect this national resource and ensure data privacy,” Ambani said at the five-day summit opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ambani said that India’s digital capital will enable faster economic growth, make small businesses Atma Nirbhar (self-sufficient), modernize agriculture and multiply farm incomes, and create an ecosystem for affordable healthcare and education.
What Ambani said about macro-level AI-driven digitization echoes the goal of RIL’s arm, Jio Platforms Ltd, to connect billions of Indians via the internet and data-driven services.
Ambani, through Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, India’s largest telecom operator by market share and a subsidiary of Jio Platforms, wants to make India ‘2G mukt’ or 2G free.
The telecommunications company plans to incorporate more 4G customers with cheaper paid rate schemes, connect users through fixed line broadband services in two and three tier cities, and roll out a 5G network that will not only link the people but will also have connected devices and applications.
Ambani’s digital plans are bolstered by the elevation of Jio Platforms ₹1.52 billion from global investors like Google Inc and Facebook in less than four months. Proceeds from the sale of stake in Jio Platforms will be used in part to achieve the company’s 5G goals.
“India has delivered 4G broadband coverage… We have gone from 155th in the world to number one in mobile data consumption. With 5G just around the corner, India will maintain its leading position, “Ambani said.
Raise 2020 is a global virtual summit on artificial intelligence (AI). The aim of the summit is to fuel the debate on creating a robust public infrastructure powered by artificial intelligence that benefits people in India and around the world.
So far, Raise has had more than 60,000 participants from 139 countries in an artificial intelligence innovation contest, said Amitabh Kant, executive director of NITI Aayog, a group of policy experts at the Center. Kant also attended the virtual summit.
The AI innovation contest titled Atma Nirbhar Bharat invited solutions in areas such as health, education, agriculture, smart mobility and natural language processing. The 15 best AI solutions have been selected by a jury and will be awarded ₹2 million each.
The contest was held from September 14-29 in the run-up to the main event.
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