Editorial 1 : Reaching out with AI
Introduction: From past 10 years India has achieved a milestone when it comes to adoption of ICT in governance and many other sectors. The growth of Digital Public Infrastructures in India has led to reduce the leakages in welfare schemes and improved their performance. It is now time that India adopts the AI in a big way in the governance field.
The Age of AI: Opportunities and Implications
- Potential of AI: AI can deliver more with less, accelerate innovation, and revolutionize sectors like healthcare, security, and language translation.
- Key Use Case – Governance (GovAI):
- AI’s transformative potential in governance can directly impact citizens.
- AI and DPI can drive efficient, inclusive, and targeted government services.
Three Trends Driving GovAI
- Rapid Digitalisation:
- 90 crore Indians connected to the internet, projected to grow to 120 crores by 2026.
- Boost to fintech and over 1,00,000 startups through government-led digital initiatives.
- GovAI to catalyze the IndiaAI ecosystem, fostering innovation and economic opportunities.
- Data as a Resource:
- India becoming one of the largest global data repositories due to DPI.
- IndiaDatasets Programme:
- Leveraging government datasets for AI model development.
- Ensuring data protection through legislation.
- Creating small language models and large language models to build a unique AI ecosystem.
- Post-COVID Efficiency Goals:
- Governments striving for resource optimization and efficiency. For example, in US where Elon Musk is being asked by President-elect Donald Trump to focus on it.
- AI as a tool to maximize the impact of public spending (e.g., Rs 48 lakh crore budget for India).
Applications of GovAI:
- Governance Enhancements:
- Government revenues and finances.
- Policy and scheme design, including social security.
- Public sector contracting.
- Sectoral Impact:
- Healthcare predictions and medicine discovery.
- Economic sectors like agriculture, fisheries, and animal husbandry.
- Disaster management, climate prediction, and national security.
- Language translation and cybersecurity.
Vision for AI in Governance
- The power of AI in reimagining governance cannot be overstated.
- AI as a kinetic enabler to reimagine and optimize governance.
- Aiming for maximum governance with minimal resources through AI and DPI integration.
- Strengthening partnerships between the government, entrepreneurs, and startups to innovate governance solutions.
India’s Global Leadership in AI
- GPAI Leadership: India chairs the Global Partnership on AI, advocating for inclusive and trusted AI development.
- Inspiration for Others: India's success in GovAI positions the country as a global leader in AI-driven governance, setting an example for other nations.
Conclusion: The last 10 years have been transformational and have placed India at the pole position of the global narrative on tech in governance, inspiring many countries to learn and follow suit. Making governance the killer app for AI will extend the arc further, truly reimagining governance in the age of AI.
Editorial 2 : Mandate for harmony
Introduction: If the victory of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP)-led National People’s Power (NPP) coalition candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake in the presidential election in September had been indicative of the churn in Sri Lankan politics, the emphatic validation of the Marxist-Leninist coalition in the recent general election marks another landmark shift in the country’s ethnic equations.
The uniqueness of recent election results in Sri Lanks
- For the first time in Sri Lanka’s history, hardline Tamil areas such as Jaffna and Vanni, epicentres of the 26-year-long ethnic strife in the country, have voted overwhelmingly for the JVP, a Sinhala-Buddhist party.
- The NPP has also made significant inroads in the centre, in areas where Tamil plantation workers reside, and in the Muslim-majority east.
- Riding on the plank of ethnic and economic equality, the victory has given President Dissanayake’s alliance a thumping two-third majority in parliament.
India-Sri Lanka relations: An optimistic future
Election results and pragmatic Indian diplomacy
- For New Delhi, a stable government in the neighbourhood offers a renewed opportunity to strengthen regional cooperation and safeguard strategic interests.
- Its cordial outreach to Dissanayake in the run-up to and aftermath of his presidential victory and the visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar last month show a judicious pragmatism.
The China factor in relations
- There have been concerns over Sri Lanka’s growing proximity to China, especially its lease of the Hambantota Port on the Indian Ocean and Beijing’s investment in infrastructure projects in the country.
- However, Dissanayake’s scepticism towards foreign investments -his party has also been critical of the Adani Group’s wind power project in Sri Lanka -may lead to a renegotiation of external relations.
Positive development on Tamilian Rights
- India and Sri Lanka have deep cultural and people-to-people relations.
- President Dissanayake’s recent endorsement of Tamil rights and the victory statistics could allay some of India’s concerns -India has long pushed for the implementation of the 13th Amendment which promises power devolution to the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka.
Huge responsibilities on President Dissanayake
- The spotlight will now be on Dissanayake, 55, an outsider to Sri Lanka’s dynastic politics and a key figure in the 2022 “Aragalaya” (protests) against the Gotabaya Rajapaksa government for corruption and economic mismanagement.
- Despite the $2.9 billion IMF bailout package, Sri Lanka’s economy remains precarious -an estimated 25.9 per cent of its citizens were below the poverty line in 2023; the World Bank expects its economy to grow by a mere 2.2 per cent in 2024.
- In his election campaigns, Dissanayake had promised economic and political reforms, including abolition of executive presidency, and a renegotiation with the IMF to lessen the tax burden on citizens.
Conclusion: The recent landslide victories by President Dissanayake led coalition in general election will put Sri Lanka on the path of recovery. The stability of government will bring the economy on track. For India the present government has shown positive approach. However, there will be a daunting task to President Dissanayake to bring normalcy in Sri Lanka and to sail through the choppy waters of a new cold war in Indian ocean.