NITI Aayog and Microsoft partner to boost AI to the masses

13 October 2018

NITI(National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and Microsoft India have signed an agreement today to leverage the benefits of AI for the growth of the nation. As part of the agreement, Microsoft India will support NITI Aayog by combining the cloud, AI, research and its vertical expertise for new initiatives and solutions across several core areas including agriculture and healthcare and the environment.

With this agreement, Microsoft will provide the following AI-based solutions to address challenges in agriculture and healthcare:

Farm advisory services: Microsoft will develop farm advisory services to help increase crop yield, pest detection, and pest incident predictions as part of projects across locations identified by NITI Aayog. This will involve applying data science, remote sensing and image processing apps to crop maps, yield data and weather data collected over five years. The pest risk detection model will provide information five days in advance of expected attacks.

Healthcare screening models at Primary Health Centers: The company will build AI assisted models for Diabetic Retinopathy screening models to support early risk detection, risk assessment, and timely medical intervention. These models will be deployed as Proof of Concept (POCs) across Primary Health Centers identified by NITI Aayog. Microsoft will also support NITI Aayog in preparing a blueprint for AI-led Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programs, which the Central and State Governments can incorporate into their relevant health screening & programs.

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Building capacity for AI through education: Recognizing the fact that proliferation of AI in India would require a focused approach towards capacity building within the ecosystem, the agreement will aim at building capacity among youth. Microsoft will leverage content from the Microsoft India AI Professional Certificate program for developers, academic institutions and students across the country to help skill/reskill them in the areas of AI and data sciences.

Also, Microsoft will promote STEM education in the areas of AI studies and Data sciences for young women in institutes identified by NITI Aayog. This will include a fellowship for select women candidates pursuing post-graduate courses in data sciences and AI, as well as a foundation level AI and data sciences course for young women graduates.

Societal Impact Projects: Microsoft Research India (MSRI) will set up a Microsoft – NITI Aayog Problem to Solution Incubation Test Bed within its premises in Bangalore to develop AI driven solutions for societal problems mutually identified with NITI Aayog.
Environment: Microsoft will collaborate with NITI Aayog to identify potential projects on environmental challenges that could be eligible for grants under its worldwide AI for Earth program. If selected, these projects would be eligible for benefits including access to Microsoft Azure and AI computing resources; in-depth education and technology training on these tools and additional support as the projects grow and mature.
Natural Language Processing(NPL): In keeping with its commitment to lower language barriers to technology, Microsoft will mentor relevant stakeholders to use NPL tools in Indic languages in a commercially viable manner.