“Given India’s strength in its young, highly skilled and educated population spread across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities, we are well positioned to emerge as a hub of innovative and cost-effective solutions for large global companies. In this dynamic landscape, the National Deep Tech Startup Policy is a welcome step for the startup ecosystem,” said Sayandeb Banerjee, Co-Founder and CEO, MathCo.
“So far, the focus has been primarily on academic and government institutions to promote and support start-ups. The private sector’s contribution has largely been limited to CSR spending, often led by these same institutions,” said Sunil Shekhawat, CEO, SanchiConnect.
It is now imperative to consider special measures to facilitate the operations of institutions supporting start-ups beyond the scope of government grants, Shekhawat added.
Artificial intelligence has become a constant in our lives. To give AI a boost, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to set up three centres of excellence in artificial intelligence at premier educational institutions as part of the interim budget.
Experts expect the upcoming budget to pay similar attention to AI. However, to harness the potential of AI, ethical guidelines are imperative.
“Ethical guidelines and comprehensive regulatory frameworks, as highlighted in recent NITI Aayog studies, are essential to ensure responsible deployment of AI, guard against bias and protect data privacy,” said Lokesh Nigam, Co-founder and CEO, Konverz.ai.
Nigam added that prioritizing reskilling and upskilling initiatives is critical to prepare the workforce for AI-driven changes. According to a recent study by ServiceNow and Pearson, AI and automation will require 16.2 million Indian workers to upskill and reskill.
Moreover, the country has less than 2,000 senior engineers who can build basic AI products, according to a report by Moneycontrol. While expectations are high for the upcoming budget, it is unclear what the future holds for the fintech sector.
