The programme was conceptualised and rolled out to encourage AI adoption in the country
From over 330+ nominations received across various industries, 15 winners were shortlisted after an extensive selection process
New Delhi, NFAPost: National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) announced the winners for its flagship AI Gamechangers Programme on the sidelines of Xperience AI Summit 2021.
Continuing its efforts to promote AI-led innovation, NASSCOM in collaboration with Microsoft as the ‘Innovation Partner’ and Deloitte as the ‘Knowledge Partner’ had announced the AI Gamechanger Program to recognise innovative and impactful AI-led use cases, and further encourage AI adoption in the country.
The programme gathered over 300+applications across industries and sectors including Retail & CPG, BFSI, healthcare and Life Sciences, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Industrial Automotive, Education, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Energy and Natural Resources, Transport and Logistics, and Travel, Toursim and Hospitality.
The shortlisted applicants further presented their use-cases to an eclectic panel comprising of industry veterans, technology professionals, academicians and subject matter experts who evaluated the use-cases on three primary aspects of the problem solving, solution innovation and impact achieved.
Speaking on the occasion, Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said India’s AI ecosystem has the potential to be at the forefront of driving the economic growth of the country.
“The Indian tech industry is working towards harnessing the homegrown AI potential and helping the nation address critical economic and social value creation goals. Through the AI Gamechangers Program, we look forward to bringing forth some of the most innovative and impactful AI-led ideas to recognize the efforts that will empower India to be a global innovation hub,” said Debjani Ghosh.
Debjani Ghosh also said she would like to congratulate all the winners of the program as their transformative ideas will propel the nation to leverage the inherent innovation quotient to be globally competitive. “I call upon the constant support of our government, academia and the tech ecosystem at large, to nurutue, prize and celebrate India’s AI potential,” said Debjani Ghosh.
Sharing his thoughts on the programme, Microsoft India President Anant Maheshwari said cloud-led data and AI have a critical role in solving some of the country’s most vital challenges.
“The AI Gamechangers program has successfully created a platform that promotes homegrown AI-based innovation in the country. I am enthused to see how innovators across the country developed mature, scalable ideas using AI and embracing Tech Intensity to transform the way we live and do business – becoming more efficient, achieving greater agility, and paving a path toward a more sustainable and secure future,” said Anant Maheshwari.
He shared his heartiest congratulations to all the finalists! “As Microsoft, we are honored to be the ‘Innovation Partner’ and participate in Nasscom’s AI for India mission,” said Anant Maheshwari.
During the Xperience AI Summit held today, the winners were announced by the members of the Steering Committee. The event concluded with Debjani Ghosh, President Of NASSCOM releasing an AI compendium that comprises success stories of the AI innovators, 50 use-cases across 15 categories and industry verticals. T
The purpose of this compendium is to restate the growing significance and impact of AI applications and to make India as an emerging hub for innovative and transformational AI solutions and investments. The compendium features stories on 15 ‘Gamechangers’ (winners) and 12 ‘Challengers’ (1st runner up) along with 3 ‘Exemplars’ (high-impact and at-scale AI implementations by the government) Additionally, 18 innovators (2nd runner up) and 2 special mentions have also been covered, bringing the tally to 50.
Nasscom’s report titled ‘Unlocking value from Data and AI’ states that utilisation of data and artificial intelligence (AI) could play a crucial role in realising India’s 2025 vision of inclusive development and deliver over $500 billion in value to the economy. It mentions that nearly 45 percent of this value is likely to be delivered by three sectors, namely consumer goods and retail, agriculture and banking and insurance.
The second edition of Nasscom Xperience AI Summit with the theme “AI as a Catalyst for a Better Normal” brought together the entire AI ecosystem – Government, Practitioners, AI Experts, Industry Leaders, Academicians, Startups and Researchers to deliberate on the crucial role of AI towards a better future of India and the world.
Nearly 50% of the submissions came from the start-ups, highlighting the innovation quotient of AI implementations across sectors in India. The academic entries demonstrated strong potential and focused on critical use cases, backing their problem-solving approach with research-based evidence.
The government use cases identified critical problems at the grass root level, ensuring that the solution impacts the right beneficiaries, developing and deploying at-scale AI solutions, and ensuring the desired benefit is reaped. Enterprises represented over 30% of the shortlisted entries. They also led the front in topical use case categories that have been extremely relevant during the current times with the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic.
