Minority affairs ministry plans major AI rollout

The minority affairs ministry is working with government-funded startups Gnani.ai and Sarvam to develop and integrate a series of artificial Intelligence (AI) applications over the next six months. These include an AI chatbot called Aisha for the ministry’s website which will provide round-the-clock support in 22 languages.

The solution, which can be used to file applications, features an automated complaint process and scans through ministry documents and schemes.

The ministry is also keen to deploy Gnani.ai's voice-enabled AI solution for the Hajj platform which provides support in 10 languages. It can help notify the nearly 175,000 Hajj pilgrims from India every year about prayer timings, lost luggage, medical screenings and emergency help.


Officials said the move may help reduce the 200-odd government officials who now travel with Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia every year for the annual pilgrimage, managing queries, reviewing bookings and providing on-ground assistance. Connected to banking systems, the solution will also ensure seamless disbursement of refunds in the Hajj process which currently take up to eight months.

AI solutions for the National Minorities Development Finance Corporation are also in the pipeline.
“We are aiming to deploy AI-led technological interventions to further improve the schemes of the ministry, and ensure government services reach a much larger population,” said minority affairs minister Kiren Rijiju.
The ministry’s flagship initiative, PM Vikas scheme, designed to boost socio-economic empowerment and employment of minority youths, will also be integrated with AI to help the youths find jobs in their micro employment zones.

On Thursday, the ministry also signed a memorandum of understanding with Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani's non-profit Ekstep Foundation for developing human-focused AI use cases.