It’s a wrap: News this week (Aug 12 – Aug 18)

There have been multiple developments on the tech front this week. From Wipro’s new AI CoE to RBI’s AI strategy, this is the list of the most important developments this week for a quick catch-up:

Govt extends Digital India program 

The Union Cabinet approved the expansion of the Digital India program with an outlay of ₹ 14,903 crore for five years, from 2021-22 and 2025-26. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the minister for electronics and information technology said that a lot of work has already happened on this front and that the government is looking at modifying the existing schemes to make them more relevant to current requirements.

The fund would be utilised towards building artificial intelligence tools and centers of excellence (CoE), training IT professionals, and adding new supercomputers, among other such initiatives.

Wipro’s AI CoE at IIT Delhi

Indian IT firm Wipro has established a Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) CoE at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi. To be located at the Yardi School of Artificial Intelligence at the IIT Delhi campus, this CoE will facilitate practical research in generative AI, according to a statement. 

The announcement follows Wipro's recent commitment to invest $1 billion in AI innovation to improve their data, and analytics abilities, strengthen research and development, enhance the FullStride Cloud, and develop new consulting skills. 

Infosys’ $1.6bn deal with Liberty Global

Indian IT company Infosys has announced a five-year deal worth $1.64 billion with video and communications services company Liberty Global. The goal of this agreement is to upgrade and expand Liberty Global's entertainment and connectivity services. Infosys will help Liberty Global achieve yearly savings of over €100 million, including other cost reductions and technology investments. This is an extension of their initial collaboration signed in February 2020. Infosys will now be responsible for developing and running Liberty Global's Horizon entertainment and connectivity platforms. 

RBI to leverage AI

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has selected information technology (IT) service provider Accenture and consultancy firm McKinsey and Company India to use artificial intelligence for its project. The two firms have been selected to offer machine learning and advanced analytics for generating supervisory inputs for the apex bank. 
This week RBI also launched the pilot for a Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit. The Platform will be developed by the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the RBI that aims to promote inclusive, access to financial services by leveraging state-of-the-art technology.