AI bandwagon

Enterprises jump on AI bandwagon, but seat belts are few

by | Sep 4, 2020 | Analysis, Artificial Intelligence

An EY-Nasscom study says 74% of organizations have initiated AI adoption, but lack of risk-assessment prototypes is a challenge that needs to be overcome.
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Artificial intelligence (AI) is swiftly moving to the mainstream and emerging as a powerful engine for many organizations, prompting them to jump on the AI bandwagon to accelerate growth, innovate, and disrupt the market. The Indian government and industry bodies are extensively focusing on building an AI ecosystem that could help the country to develop and implement cutting-edge solutions (See: New CII forum formed to help build an AI ecosystem)

However, according to a recent study, Indian enterprises need to beef up their risk-management capabilities to leverage AI’s potential and dodge threats that may emerge after scaling up AI deployments.

The study titled, Can enterprise intelligence be created artificially?, commissioned by global consulting major EY and trade association body Nasscom, says that 60% of Indian executive leaders believe that AI will disrupt their businesses within three years. Yet, only 25% of enterprises have deployed AI solutions. Over 500 top CXOs across India participated in this survey and shared their AI adoption journey highlights along with the critical challenges faced by their companies.

The findings of the EY-Nasscom survey also disclosed that the majority of the enterprises are still battling out governance and risk management concerns for mass AI adoption. According to the EY-Nasscom survey, 74% of the respondents said that they had established a formal strategy or obtained C-suite sponsorship to initiate or scale up their AI programs. However, despite riding the AI bandwagon, a whopping 88% of the respondents stated that their risk management frameworks required improvements to address AI-specific concerns in areas such as ethics, accountability, and explainability.

After a couple of years of rigorous prototype testing and its applicability in the modern-day technology ecosystem, Indian enterprises are now finally waking up to the potential of AI and plan aggressive deployments. There is a broader understanding that AI adoption will help enterprises strengthen their cost-optimization efforts, operational efficiency, customer experience, and revenue growth. The time is now to move away from the development aspect to model validation.

A good governance structure is missing

AI tools are largely statistical models. They can be customized and come in wide ranging forms. Such models have their benefits and challenges.

One of the critical advantages that AI offers is its incredible competence to simplify the decision-making process. The integrated analytics and data science act as a catalyst for transformation, enabling enterprises to review in-depth insights and make precise decisions. It empowers leaders to transition time-consuming, complex, and repetitive tasks to AI-driven tools, thus assigning more meaningful responsibilities to them while freeing up the resources.

It is a well-known fact that various AI tools, such as robotic process automation (RPA)  and natural language processing (NLP), need diverse technology combinations to demystify their true potential.

Like every technology, AI deployment needs strategic planning and strongly interconnected governance models to make it a success in any ecosystem. Some of the core risks allied with AI include algorithm-related bias, legal compliance, concealed cyber attacks, programmatic errors, and overdependence on the technology. AI systems handle vital and sensitive organizational data, and hence, these risks, if not appropriately managed, can cause ambiguous and misleading results, leading to massive loss of corporate reputation and revenue.

“AI needs to be understandable, auditable, and grounded on reliable data. Integrated governance is needed to promote the reliability of data gathering, storage, and its usage, with adequate safeguards built-in through a robust risk management framework. Almost half of the surveyed enterprises state that their data strategy, specifically as it relates to harmonizing data from disparate datasets and strengthening data security, has significant scope for improvement to ensure AI-program success,” the EY-Nasscom study adds.

Some of the other elements that may influence the AI-success in any organization include the availability of accurate data, the digitization level of an enterprise, and the maturity of the partner network.

Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM

 “As industry witnesses a rapid advancement in new technologies, Artificial Intelligence increasingly becoming an imperative for businesses across industries. Implementing AI will not only catalyze the innovation to stay competitive but also generate long-term value for enterprises. The NASSCOM – EY survey is ready reckoner that AI adoption is a critical competitive lever. It enables business leaders to infuse technology at speed.” 

Vijay Bhaskaran, Partner – Technology Consulting, EY

“AI has immense capability to unlock exponential value for businesses and navigate the complexities of the ever-evolving digital economy. However, enterprises too need to equip themselves with the right AI platform that can help them rapidly adopt and scale AI solutions, resulting in faster, smarter and future-ready businesses. It is our constant endeavour to help organizations transform by automating intelligently with our unique propositions in artificial intelligence (AI) consulting.”

Nitin Bhatt, Partner & Technology Sector Leader, EY India

“AI holds tremendous potential in helping companies innovate, enhance competitiveness and generate significant long-term value. AI adopters have already achieved remarkable success in transforming their business models, operational processes and stakeholder experiences. As business leaders continue to push the frontiers of technology and the future success of AI will be driven only by our inspiration and imagination.”

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electric vehicle charging

GST rate on charger or charging stations for EVs is cut from 18% to 5%. (Representative Image)

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These changes shall become effective from 1 August, 2019.

Govt using satellite imagery for assessing crops

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assessing crop data

Representative image.

Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) envisages use of improved technology to reduce time gap for settlement of claims of farmers. Accordingly, the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare, through Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), involved 8 agencies/ organizations to carry out pilot studies for Optimization of Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) in various States under PMFBY. The studies used various technologies, including Satellite data, Artificial Intelligence, Modeling tools etc. for reducing the number of CCEs required for insurance unit level for yield estimation. The studies were taken up to address a major issue of the need to carry out large number of CCEs for calculation of yield data vis-à-vis claims at Gram Panchayat level. The results are being evaluated for providing recommendations for their implementation in the upcoming seasons.

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The Government is also using satellite imagery to assess the crop area, crop condition and crop yield, at district level, under various programmes such as Forecasting Agricultural Output Using Space, Agrometeorology & Land based observations and Coordinated Horticulture Assessment and Management using Geo-informatics. Further, satellite data is also being used for drought assessment, to assess the potential area for growing pulses and horticultural crops.

With a view to ensure better transparency, accountability, timely payment of claims to the farmers and to make the scheme more farmer friendly, the Government of India has comprehensively revised the Operational Guidelines of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) which have become effective from Rabi 2018-19 season. Provision of 12% interest rate per annum to be paid by the Insurance Company to farmers for delay in settlement claims beyond 10 days of prescribed cut-off date for payment of claims. As the settlement of claims for Rabi 2018-19 season is underway, the admissible penal interest is not yet worked out.

This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in Rajya Sabha.

Uber ties up with SUN Mobility for EV push

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electric vehicle charging

Representative Image

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40 Tata electric buses for J&K

Tata Motors has installed charging stations for fast charging of buses.

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Speaking on the occasion, Rohit Srivastava, Vice President and Product Line Head – Passenger Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors, said, “With growing environmental concerns, electric bus will be extremely vital for mass transit because it is not only energy efficient but also reduces overall cost per kms. Tata Motors has always been at the forefront of the E-mobility evolution and this order from JKSRTC is a testament of our excellent range of buses built for STUs in India. Our in-depth understanding of sustainable public transport for different markets and customers has helped us differentiate from our competitors. The electric buses will play an integral role in reduction of pollution load in the congested areas of our metropolis. We are determined to develop alternate fuel technologies and create more energy efficient vehicles thereby supporting the government’s efforts towards promoting electric vehicles in the country.”

Dr. A.K. Jindal, Head Engineering (Electric & Defence), CVBU, Tata Motors said, “Tata Motors has been engaging in advanced engineering and development of electric traction system for Hybrid as well as Pure Electric vehicles for over a decade. The Ultra Electric Bus is a new modular platform, which has been developed in a very short lead-time of less than a year, leveraging the knowledge and experience we have gained and demonstrating our commitment to the Government of India’s National Electric Mobility Mission Plan for Public Transport. The architecture of the platform has been conceived and developed by in-house engineering team of Tata Motors, meeting the requirement of various tenders floated by different state transport undertakings. The exterior has been designed with new brand identity that includes stylized Ultra headlamps and streamlined looks. The vehicle architecture ensures very low energy consumption and low TCO (total cost of operation) apart from being a Zero Emission environment friendly bus.”

The new-age Ultra Electric buses, powered by an Integrated Electric Motor Generator are built on existing proven platforms of Starbus and Ultra. With a max power of 245KW and continuous power of 145KW, the buses have a seating capacity of 31 + 1D seats. The buses will help in zero tailpipe emissions, 50% lower fuel costs, 20% better energy consumption and lower maintenance downtime as compared to diesel buses. As an industry first, there will be air suspension for both front and rear axles to make travel more comfortable for the commuters. Integrated electric motor generator with a peak power of 333HP can deliver 197HP continuously ensuring effortless driving in congested roads and frequent start stops needing no shifting of gears.

Commenting on the occasion, Bilal Ahmed Bhatt, Managing director, JKSRTC said, “The need for a cleaner, smarter and safer mode of transportation is a prerequisite for Jammu and Kashmir, due to the alarming rise of air pollution in the city. Tata Motors has pioneered technological innovations in the bus segment with an in-depth understanding of different market conditions, making it a perfect fit for us. Tata Motors will be delivering 40 e-buses, which will soon ply on the roads of Jammu and Kashmir. We look forward to continue this association.”

The critical electrical traction components have been sourced from internationally known best-in-class suppliers in USA, Germany and China offering proven products. The buses have been tested and validated by Tata Motors across states including Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Assam and Maharashtra to establish performance in diverse terrains. The company has tenders to supply 255 electric buses to six public transport undertakings including WBTC (West Bengal), LCTSL (Lucknow), AICTSL (Indore), ASTC (Guwahati), JKSRTC (Jammu) and JCTSL (Jaipur). In addition to this, the company is also working on developing its electric mini-bus segment in the near future.

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This information was given in a written reply by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar in Lok Sabha today.

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Constitution of a single tribunal with different benches along with fixation of strict timelines for adjudication will result expeditious resolution of disputes relating to inter-state rivers. The amendments in the Bill will speed up the adjudication of water disputes referred to it.

When any request under the Act is received from any State Government in respect of any water dispute on the inter-State rivers and the Central government is of the opinion that the water dispute cannot be settled by negotiations, the Central Government constitutes a Water Disputes Tribunal for the adjudication of the water dispute.

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