In line with the Union government’s Digital India campaign, the Interim Budget provided the necessary fillip to technology integration and its application. During his Budget speech, acting Finance Minister Piyush Goyal stated the government’s continued focus on artificial intelligence (AI) and measures to drive AI technology in India. It included establishing a National Centre on AI as a hub along with centres of excellence to take the benefits of AI and related technologies to the masses. As part of this national programme on AI, Goyal recognised nine priority areas, and stated that a national portal on AI will be developed soon.

The potential of AI cannot be undermined in any way as this technology has been one of the major advancements in the past couple of years in India. AI has what it takes to deliver large economic and societal impact for India. According to an Accenture report, AI has the potential to add $957 billion to the Indian economy by 2035. AI is spearheading a gradual evolution in India’s job market as well. While there has been a lot of hue and cry around robots and AI “taking away jobs”, studies and research have shown that new jobs will offset those lost. A Gartner report states that in 2020, AI will become a positive net job motivator, as it will create 2.3 million jobs while only eliminating 1.8 million jobs.

So, how can businesses steer through the uncertain future, when AI is guiding the ship?

The impact of AI can be experienced in multiple sectors. NITI Aayog has identified five sectors - agriculture, health care, education, smart cities and infrastructure and transportation - to have a concerted effort towards application of AI to serve societal needs. The think-tank also came out with a discussion paper regarding the national strategy on AI, which aims to guide research and development in emerging technologies.

An early adopter of AI has been the auto industry. A leading Indian automaker is trying to enhance in-car connectivity and efficiency by collaborating with an IT major to develop smart, connected vehicle technologies brought together by AI, machine learning and Internet of Things (IoT). Today, AI is being leveraged to create a highly personalised, smart and safer driving experience and such technologies are being used and tested to power self-driving cars. AI gives cars the ability to perceive, reason, learn and navigate a wide range of driving scenarios. With AI gaining rapid momentum, the future isn’t far when we will see self-driving cars being commercially used.

Similarly, another industry that is ahead in the adoption of AI is the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector. We have seen a leading bank in India that has introduced an AI-powered robot at one of its branches, wherein the robot combines advanced robotics and AI technology to interact with customers and support them with information related to account opening or using ATMs. Another leading bank has also installed customer-facing robots at its branches. These robots help to reduce waiting time by providing information and services to customers. Depending on the success, these robots might even start substituting front-desk job roles at bank branches in the next three to five years. As emerging technologies such as AI, robotics, analytics and IoT are being embedded in every function of the BFSI value chain, banks have already started the reskilling and upskilling of the current workforce to align them with more value-added services.

One of the pressing needs that has to be addressed by all stakeholders, be it the government, industry or academia, is to close the skill gap on AI and prepare the current and future workforce to be future-ready for newer job roles dominated by AI, analytics and bots. In this dynamic environment, it’s important for the government to periodically commence an economy-wide skill gap analysis as it will help policymakers in preparing for the future and survive the impact of new and emerging technologies. The government’s Skill India initiative also has a significant role to play here to strike a balance between job availability and employee readiness. At the same time, industry players should undertake necessary reskilling process or on-the-job training for their workforce.

In today’s time, every organisation should develop its own AI strategy to stay ahead of the competition. Similarly, the academia and educational bodies should migrate from their traditional curriculum to incorporate coursework that is in sync with emerging technologies such as AI.

Lastly, individuals should keep themselves updated and relevant to the job roles by continuously adapting and evolving with the organisational changes and market dynamics.

All in all, different stakeholders should come together to develop a talent pipeline, reskill the workforce, frame progressive policies, create data ecosystems and increase R&D to truly derive the benefits of AI in India.

Sayan Banerjee is a marketing communications professional. The views expressed here are personal.