Many Industry Heavy-weights have given their full backing to the government’s move to double the funding for its Digital India program to Rs 3,073 crore. These funds will be put towards research and skilling in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), among others.

Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley revealed that NITI Aayog will commence with a nation-wide program to better direct AI efforts, while the Department of Science and Technology will work towards beginning a Cyber-Physical Systems mission.

The government is also in the process of establishing Centres of Excellence (CoEs) for research, training and skilling in Robotics, AI, digital manufacturing, Big Data Analytics, quantum communication and IoT. 

Kulmeet Bawa, Managing Director, South Asia, Adobe expressed his delight at seeing India’s continued motivation to build smart cities and develop Wi-Fi networks in urban regions. He believes that the government’s decision to focus on AI will further give India opportunities to innovate and succeed in today’s technology-driven world.

Managing Director of HP Inc. India, Mr. Sumeer Chandra also said that his company was thrilled to see the promotion of research of 3D printing and digital manufacturing.

"We believe this technology will enable speedy growth of the manufacturing industry and help India in becoming a major manufacturing hub," Chandra emphasised.

Priya Mahajan, of Verizon Enterprise Solutions said that “we hope that the government will also consider additional reforms in the telecom sector to create a predictable, flexible, lightly regulated policy framework that incentivises the businesses to invest, reinvest and to compete on a level-playing field basis".

The aim of the government is to support the establishment of centres of excellence for research, training and skilling in Robotics, AI, digital manufacturing, Big Data Analytics, quantum communication and IoT.