WARANGAL: At a time when people world over are discussing how artificial intelligence (AI) would eat into the job market, Secretary of Department of Science and Technology (DST) Ashutosh Sharma claimed that they were working on using technology to create new jobs. Sharma was speaking to media on the sidelines of the convocation ceremony at NIT, Warangal on Staurday.
On the occasion, Sharma said that with the increase in usage of AI in critical sectors, the centre was giving top priority to the area. He said that DST has initiated a Rs 3,600 crore Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS), an interdisciplinary field that deals with the deployment of computer-based systems that perform things in the physical world.
As robotics, artificial intelligence, digital manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and Internet-of-Things hold the key to the future, stress is being given towards training students in these technologies. Sharma added that DST had created 25 centres of excellence which work in areas such as agriculture, transport, health, education and smart cities.
“We are working on technologies through which we would be able to serve the population which had not been served so far,” he said.
VAJRA & MANAK
Stating that the government was working towards bringing the best brains to come and work in India, Sharma said that the government had introduced VAJRA (Visiting Advanced Joint Research) Faculty Scheme, a dedicated programme exclusively for overseas scientists and academicians. Vajra emphasises on Non-resident Indians (NRI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) to work as visiting faculties for a specific period of time in government-funded academic and research institutions in India.
The scheme promotes collaborative research and information sharing among researchers for updating and acquiring knowledge and skills, and to draw different perspectives to solve shared problems, he said. About 50 faculty members under the scheme have been selected and are working in various institutes, he added.
“In order to instil research-oriented practices in school students, the Centre has introduced MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge),” Sharma said, and added that the programme aimed at attracting talent to the study of science at an early age.
5G by 2021
Speaking about the internet speed, Sharma said that 5G would be introduced in the country in 2021. This (5G) would not be a continuation of 4G, but an advanced technology service which would change the entire digital scenario in the country. Combining cutting-edge network technology and the latest researches, 5G should offer connections that are multitudes faster than current connections, with average download speeds of around 1 Gbps, he said. He said that the government was working on introducing electric vehicles in the country in a big way