INDIA’S TRYST WITH TECH INDEPENDENCE

Syllabus:

  • GS 3: Achievements of Indians in Science and Techmology
  • Indigenization of technology

Why in the News?

The recent focus of the Government of India is on advancing quantum technology, AI, and semiconductor manufacturing, reflecting a strategic shift towards strengthening India’s technological ecosystem for self-sufficiency and global competitiveness.

 INDIA’S TRYST WITH TECH INDEPENDENCESource: PIB

Introduction

  • In February 2020, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted India’s commitment to emerging technologies, including quantum computing and AI.
  • With significant investments and initiatives like the National Quantum Mission and AI Mission, India aims to build a robust technology ecosystem and advance its digital infrastructure.
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

  • Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to government-provided digital platforms facilitating services like digital identities (Aadhaar), payments (UPI).

Benefits of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)

  • Diverse Choices: Platforms like UPI and ONDC provide consumers with multiple payment and e-commerce options, enhancing choice and convenience.
  • Entrepreneurship: DPI enables startups by offering low-cost entry into digital markets, as seen with small businesses leveraging UPI for payments.
  • Enhanced Competition: The Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) fosters competition by breaking monopolies and giving smaller players a chance.
  • Service Independence: DPI reduces reliance on single service providers, as evidenced by various payment and health platforms operating independently.
  • Quality of Life: Services like Aadhaar and Ayushman Bharat improve access to essential services and benefits.
  • Fair Business Opportunities: DPI’s inclusive frameworks ensure equal opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

India’s Technological Advancements and Independence Day 2024

Quantum Technology Investment

  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman highlighted quantum technology’s potential in computing, communications, and cybersecurity.
  • Nearly $1 billion was allocated to the National Quantum Mission to advance this field.

Broader Technology Goals

  • India is also focusing on:
    • Semiconductor Plants: Building local manufacturing capabilities.
    • Local Language Models: Developing AI tools for regional languages.
    • AI Mission: Enhancing AI technologies for diverse applications.

Objective

  • These initiatives aim to create a robust, self-reliant technology ecosystem.
  • The goal is to mitigate supply chain disruptions and support a clean energy future.
  • As India marks its 78th Independence Day, these technological strides are integral to strengthening its national capabilities and resilience.

The Growth of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in India

Expansion and Current Framework

  • Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): Formerly known as ‘India Stack,’ DPI now includes digital identities, payments, financial services, e-commerce, healthcare, and transportation.

Key Platforms

  • Aadhaar: Over 95% of Indians have an Aadhaar number.
  • Unified Payment Interface (UPI): Facilitated 131 billion transactions valued at ₹200 trillion in 2023-24, accounting for 80% of digital payments.
  • Health Stack: Under Ayushman Bharat, about 300 million cards issued.
  • Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC): Recorded 5 million transactions in Q4 of 2023-24.
  • FASTag: Used for toll payments at plazas.

Future Plans and Economic Impact

  • Private Sector Involvement: Government plans to engage private entities to develop DPI applications in credit, agriculture, education, health, law, logistics, and urban governance.
  • Economic Growth: DPI is expected to contribute to India’s economy reaching $8 trillion by 2030, according to Nasscom and Arthur D. Little International.

Global Influence and Security

  • International Adoption: UPI is used in UAE, Singapore, and France.
  • Global Potential: DPI is seen as a tool to reshape economies and promote equity, as highlighted by the World Bank.
  • Global Standards: The UN has introduced the ‘DPI Safeguards’ framework to ensure secure, inclusive, and adaptable global implementation of DPI.
  • DPI’s expansion in India is transforming various sectors and has the potential to boost both national and global economies.

India’s Ambitious AI Mission

Global AI Landscape

  • US and China Dominance: Together, they account for nearly 50% of the world’s AI companies, with the US investing $250 billion in 4,643 companies and China investing $95 billion in 1,337 startups.
  • India’s Position: India has around 2,080 to 3,000 AI companies, with a total investment of $8 billion in 296 startups.

Patent Leadership

  • GenAI Patents: China leads with 70% of the 54,000 GenAI patents filed between 2013 and 2023, far ahead of the US, Republic of Korea, Japan, and India.

India’s AI Strategy

  • AI Mission: The Indian government is investing ₹10,371.92 crore to advance AI technology in the country.

Focus Areas

  • GPU Manufacturing: Establishing domestic production through public-private partnerships.
  • Large Language Models: Developing multi-modal, domain-specific AI models to boost self-sufficiency.

Integration with DPI Principles

  • Alignment with DPI: The AI Mission will incorporate Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) principles to ensure fairness, interoperability, and transparency.
  • Challenges: Adapting to AI’s diverse components like machine learning, deep learning, natural language processing (NLP), and generative AI will require strategic adjustments.

India’s Push for Indigenous Language Models

Global LLM Dominance

  • Global Focus: Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are primarily trained on English datasets.
  • Indic Shift: Indian companies are now developing regional and Indic language models to cater to local needs.
  • Key Players in Indic LLM Development
    • Krutrim by Bhavish Aggarwal
    • Indus Project by Tech Mahindra
    • Airawat Series by AI4Bharat
    • OpenHathi Series by Sarvam AI
    • BharatGPT by CoRover.ai
    • Hanooman LLM Series by SML India

Government Initiatives

  • IndiaAI Innovation Centre: Encourages the development of indigenous LLMs as part of the IndiaAI mission.
  • Current Lag: India trails behind China, which leads with 130 LLMs, and the US, which holds 50%.

Challenges and Solutions

  • Data Collection: High-quality datasets are needed for training, especially for India’s 22 official languages.
  • Ongoing Efforts
    • National Language Translation Mission (Bhashini): Invested $6-7 million in data collection.
    • Project Vaani: Funded by Google India, this initiative by IISc Bangalore and ARTPARK gathers speech data.

India’s Role in AI Regulation

Global Leadership

  • GPAI Leadership: India is a founding member and current lead chair (2023-24) of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI), guiding responsible AI development.

National AI Regulation

  • No AI-Specific Bill: India currently lacks a dedicated AI regulatory bill.
  • Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: Eases cross-border data transfer restrictions, impacting AI regulation.
  • Proposed Digital India Act, 2023: Aims to replace the Indian IT Act 2000 and regulate AI, currently under consideration and may see further revisions before enactment.

India’s Semiconductor Ambitions

Global Semiconductor Investments

  • China: The Big Fund has raised hundreds of billions and is investing $47.5 billion in its third fund, focusing on microelectronics.
  • US: Investing $50 billion to enhance its semiconductor manufacturing capabilities amid sanctions on China’s sector.

India’s Semiconductor Plans

  • Investment: India aims to build semiconductor facilities worth nearly ₹1.25 trillion.
  • Tata Electronics: Partnering with Taiwan’s PSMC to set up a fab in Gujarat.
  • OSAT Facilities
    • In Assam, by Tata Electronics.
    • By CG Power with Renesas.

Production Focus and Challenges

  • Current Production: India’s new facilities will produce chips with 28 nm and above nodes.
  • Modern Chips: Produced with 5-10 nm nodes, which are more advanced but costly to develop.
  • Cost and Time: A 5 nm production line costs about $5.4 billion and takes 2-3 years to become fully operational, with a breakeven period extending over a decade.

Strategic Focus

  • Chip Nodes: India’s focus on 28-65 nm chips requires less investment and has a longer shelf life.
  • Value Chain: Investments will support local chip-making by including design, fabrication, assembly, testing, marking, and packaging.

The National Quantum Mission

  • Announcement: Launched on April 19, 2023.
  • Budget: ₹6,000 crore over eight years.

Goals

  • Develop 50 to 1,000 qubits of quantum computing hardware.
  • Establish a 2,000-kilometre quantum communications network.
  • Foster a domestic quantum research ecosystem.

Quantum Computing in India

  • Quantum Bits (Qubits): Unlike traditional bits, qubits process information in multiple states simultaneously, allowing for more complex computations.
  • Development Targets: Aiming to build a quantum computer with 50 qubits by 2026.

Institutes Involved

  • IISc Bengaluru
  • IIT-Roorkee
  • C-DAC, Pune (Quantum simulator platform using PARAM Shavak and PARAM Siddhi)
  • Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (5-qubit quantum computer)

Industry Participation

  • Infosys: Partnering with Amazon Web Services to advance quantum capabilities.
  • Tech Mahindra: Launched QNxT, a quantum centre of excellence in Finland.
  • Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): Focused on quantum algorithms for optimization, machine learning, and image processing.
  • HCL: Exploring applications in transport, logistics, finance, and security.
  • Zensar: Targeting drug discovery, genomic analysis, and fraud detection.

Strategic Focus and Economic Impact

  • Real-World Applications: Emphasis on solving India’s unique challenges, such as agriculture with AI for crop management and resource optimization.
  • Economic Potential: Quantum technologies could contribute $280–310 billion to the Indian economy by 2030, according to a Nasscom-Avasant report.

Advancements in India’s Transportation Technology

Electric Vehicle (EV) Sector

  • Investor Interest: Ola Electric’s stock market success shows growing investor interest in India’s green economy.
  • Government Policy: In March, India reduced EV import taxes on models if carmakers invest $500 million and start local manufacturing within three years.

Bullet Train Project

  • India plans to launch its first bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai in August 2026.

Hyperloop Technology

  • Hyperloop involves high-speed, low-pressure tubes for fast transport, exceeding 1,000 kmph.
  • Startups and Research
    • TuTr Hyperloop: Incubated at IIT Madras.
    • Quintrans Hyperloop: Based in Pune.

Conclusion

India’s technological advancements, from quantum computing and AI to semiconductor manufacturing and green transportation, reflect a strategic push towards self-sufficiency and global competitiveness, promising substantial economic and societal benefits.

Source:Livemint

Mains Practice Question:

Evaluate the challenges and opportunities associated with India’s push to develop its semiconductor industry and quantum computing capabilities.

Associated Article:

https://universalinstitutions.com/quantum-computing-essentials/