NITI Aayog, ABB facilitate adoption of Artificial Intelligence technologies by MSMEs

New Delhi: NITI Aayog and ABB India organized a workshop to discuss various facets of AI based technology adoption across certain sectors that brought together entrepreneurs, policymakers, state government functionaries and technology experts.

Aligned with the national objective of ‘AI for All’, the workshop, held at the ABB Ability Innovation Center (AIC) in Bengaluru featured MSME entreprenuers from the selected sectors of pharmaceuticals, textiles, electrical and electronics, food processing and manufacturing

The workshop focused in three key areas that included addressing sector specific issues - regulatory, financial and policy concerns relating to adoption of automation by the MSMEs; exploring innovative business and economic models (plug and play, cluster approach, shared manufacturing approach) to accelerate technology adoption by MSMEs, while optimizing costs; and addressing potential impacts of automation and AI on the workforce and steps that could  be taken to educate, train and reskill the workforce.

“At NITI Aayog we are no longer working on one-way policy plans, we have wide and deep interactions with those for whom the policies are intended to focus on. At ABB Ability Innovation Center we have brought all stakeholders of MSME value chain to identify the roadblocks they face in growth, be it in business models, financing or skilled labor, and together find ways in which we can address the same using tools ranging from policy to technology,“ said Anna Roy, Senior Adviser, NITI Aayog.

“India can leapfrog and show the way when it comes to innovative AI applications. Working with MSMEs and the eco-system is critical for the industrial and manufacturing adoption of such technologies. With its established history of working with them for several decades and driving the change with new digital solutions,  ABB would be the perfect catalyst,“ said Sanjeev Sharma, Managing Director, ABB India.

Last year, NITI Aayog and ABB signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to support the Indian government to realize its ambitious vision of “Make in India” through advanced manufacturing technologies that incorporate the latest developments in robotics and artificial intelligence.