In continuation of the celebration of Azadi Ka Digital Mahotsav week from Nov 29 – Dec 5, 2021, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Railways and Communications felicitated 20 projects offering solutions to various social and economic problems using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Responsible AI for Youth, a National program for Government Schools .
He also awarded start-ups under the BHUMI (BSF High-tech Undertaking for Maximizing Innovation) Challenge which successfully identified impactful solutions to address various problemsfaced by the BSF.
The award distribution ceremony to felicitate the most innovative projects under the ‘National Program for Government Schools: Responsible Al for Youth’ and start-ups of the BHUMI challenge was also graced by Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, MeitY; Shri Rakesh Asthana, Delhi Police Commissioner; Ms. Nivruti Rai, Country Head Intel India and Vice President, Intel Foundry Services; Shri Abhishek Singh President and CEO, NeGD, and MyGov; and Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, MeitY.
The ‘National Program for Government Schools: Responsible Al for Youth’ was launched in 2020 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India and Intel India to empower the youth to become Al ready and help reduce the skill gap. The aim of the Program was to give young students a platform and empower them with appropriate new age tech mind-set, relevant skill-sets, and access to required tool-sets to make them digitally ready for the future.
The program was organized in three phases. In the first phase, the program reached out to students from government schools across 35 states and 5,724 cities and towns. Out of the 52,000+ registered students, 11,466 students completed the AI training.
In phase two, top 100 ideas were shortlisted. These 100 ideas represented by 125 students from 25 states and UTs comprised of 67 girls and 58 boys from state-run government schools, central government KendriyaVidyalayas, government aided schools, and Navodaya Vidyalayas.
The students learned basic AI concepts, domains, introduction to programming languages, data structures and project pitching in batches conducted both in Hindi and English. In addition, students who completed their first level of training were awarded a certificate, a message from the Hon’ble Prime Minister, Hon’ble Minister, Electronics and IT, and were also enabled to continue their AI journey with content and access to the internet.
In phase three, 60 shortlisted ideas were invited for a virtual showcase and evaluation, and top 20 projects represented by 27 students were shortlisted as the winners.
The shortlisted projects are: The AI Waste Classifier, Ayurtech Band, AI Idea in Healthcare to diagnose patients, App of Growth for farmers to identify crops that can be best harvested at a given time, Divyang Roshni a computer vision based Cerebral Palsy detector,Virtual Assistance cum Parental Guidance, Tree Thinning Scanner, ‘Mitti ko jaano, fasal pehchano’ Soil analysis and crop recommendation technology, Artificial Intelligence is a Boon for Healthcare, Helper of visually challenged, Be attentive or Drowsiness detection in students, AthleteX for the Atmanirbhar Athlete, Smart Eye, Body Tracker, App for hearing-impaired, Weed and Crop Detection System, Life Saver and Doctors Helper.
Out of the 20 projects, an AI model-based mobile app called Medicinal leaf by Manisha Ramola from Government Inter College Phata, Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand was one of the main attractions at the exhibition stalls. Her application provides in-depth information on medicinal leaves and herbs with just a single image. This model will help people living in remote areas understand the medicinal benefits of trees and plants around them and harness them for their well-being.
Another project by Arya Pangging from Arunachal Pradesh uses an AI tool to detect real-time conditions of the road and minimize the probability of road accidents. This computer vision-based technology can be used to send alerts about dysfunctional roads, assess the risk and guide drivers to other routes beforehand.
From Rajasthan, Indrapura, Mohit Tailor and Soniya Mishra developed a smart AI model called ‘Scarecrow’ which can detect animals or birds, and buzz loud sounds to scare animals in farmland to avoid loss of crop or yield.
While felicitating the winners, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Railways and Communications said that it was imperative to skill the future workforce on new-age skills to ensure inclusive economic growth and social development. The Minister underlined the importance of making the next-generation ready for the future led by Artificial Intelligence.
Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) remarked, “I am really happy that this time we have dedicated the Responsible Al for Youth program to government school children and more than 50,000 school kids participated in it. I really believe that nothing can stop those who have mastered AI technology at such a young age”.
In her congratulatory address, Nivruti Rai, Country Head, Intel India and Vice President, Intel Foundry Services, said, “Intel is committed to building AI skills and accelerating digital readiness among the workforce of the future and we immensely value the collaboration with MeitY and NeGD in equipping the government school students across India with these skillsets. It’s heartening to see innovative AI projects developed by these students to address problems in critical areas like healthcare, agriculture, and road safety, as part of the National Program for Government Schools: Responsible Al for Youth. Emerging technologies like AI are of national importance as they have the power to improve lives and livelihoods of people.”
Shri Abhishek Singh, President and CEO, NeGD, and MyGov said “The 13 girls and 14 boys represent the future of India; the future that will dominate in the days to come. These kids are the ones who will go ahead and build the next generation unicorns and go on to become CEOs of global and Indian MNCs. Grooming them and strengthening them with this program is one way of building capacities and also showing the world the IT and AI capacities we have in India”.
In the last segment of the award ceremony, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw,Hon’ble Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Railways and Communications felicitated start-ups under the BHUMI Challenge for finding solutions to the various challenges faced by the Border Security Force (BSF).
Under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s initiative of AatmaNirbhar Bharat, MeitY in partnership with Border Security Forces (BSF) launched a grand challenge on strengthening border security titled ‘BHUMI’ (BSF High-tech Undertaking for Maximizing Innovation) to identify impactful solutions from start-ups to address the problem statements identified by BSF.
The Challenge included finding solutions to four main problem statements: detection of electronic devices (mobile phones), detection of tunnels or underground activities, alternate communication systems in shadow areas, and anti-drone technology.
Border Security Force (BSF) had organized Hackathons with Indian start-ups and premier institutions to leverage the innovations created by Indian entrepreneurs.
A total of 47 applications were received on the MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) portal, out of which 8 start-ups were shortlisted for field trials and delivery of innovative solutions to the problems faced by the BSF.
Vihaan Networks Limited, GeoRadar.ai, AAVRTTI Technologies Pvt. Ltd., DSRL, DezynForge, OptimusLogic Systems India Pvt. Ltd, Gurutvaa Systems Pvt. Ltd, and Big Bang Boom Solutions Pvt. Ltd were awarded Rs. 10 Lakh each as logistics support and to enable them to proceed further to the next stage of product development.
Shri Rakesh Asthana, Delhi Police Commissioner who gave away the awards along with the Hon’ble Minister said “I am happy that the young minds here have found a technological solution to the problems BSF faces and I am hopeful that BSF will promote this budding talent,” he said.
Talking about the BHUMI challenge, Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) said, “This is the way we look for talent instead of trying to solve all the problems using government resources and manpower. This marks a change in approach. There is huge talent everywhere in India and we only have to present problems to these talented people who are already all around us and they will solve them”.
The grand award ceremony concluded with Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar, Joint Secretary, MeitY congratulating all students who won under the National Program for Government Schools: Responsible Al for Youth and start-ups who won awards under the BHUMI challenge.