Think-Tank Activities | Economic Survey & Government Reports - UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
SECTION-V
Page 2


THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
SECTION-V
INTRODUCTION
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog undertook significant steps 
towards mainstreaming technology for achieving 
the development goals of the Government. It 
actively collaborated with the private sector to 
help the country address grave challenges in 
the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from 
continuing to explore the many economic and 
social potential of artificial intelligence and other 
emerging technologies.
This year, India pledged to cut its emissions to net-
zero by 2070 in the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, 
UK. NITI Aayog has taken several steps to promote 
the growth of clean and green energy in the country, 
such as the FAME I and II schemes, methanol 
and hydrogen economies, decarbonizing transport 
initiative, among others. 
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog continued with old 
partnerships and built new ones with various 
countries, think tanks, and educational and policy 
research institutions to create a knowledge, 
innovation and entrepreneurial support system.
Finally, any discussion on NITI Aayog’s contribution 
towards building a robust research and innovation 
ecosystem in the country is incomplete without the 
mention of Atal Innovation Mission and NILERD.
THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
67
Annual Report 2021–22 Annual Report 2021–22
Page 3


THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
SECTION-V
INTRODUCTION
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog undertook significant steps 
towards mainstreaming technology for achieving 
the development goals of the Government. It 
actively collaborated with the private sector to 
help the country address grave challenges in 
the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from 
continuing to explore the many economic and 
social potential of artificial intelligence and other 
emerging technologies.
This year, India pledged to cut its emissions to net-
zero by 2070 in the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, 
UK. NITI Aayog has taken several steps to promote 
the growth of clean and green energy in the country, 
such as the FAME I and II schemes, methanol 
and hydrogen economies, decarbonizing transport 
initiative, among others. 
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog continued with old 
partnerships and built new ones with various 
countries, think tanks, and educational and policy 
research institutions to create a knowledge, 
innovation and entrepreneurial support system.
Finally, any discussion on NITI Aayog’s contribution 
towards building a robust research and innovation 
ecosystem in the country is incomplete without the 
mention of Atal Innovation Mission and NILERD.
THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
67
Annual Report 2021–22 Annual Report 2021–22
TECHNOLOGY COMMONS
In May 2020, the Hon’ble Prime Minister entrusted NITI Aayog with the responsibility of working with 
the private sector to develop cutting-edge technology products that would enable India to leapfrog in 
the post-Covid era. These products were to be grounded in the principles of ‘Technology Commons’, 
namely:
a. Open Architecture, Modular Design and Interoperability
b. Transparent and Secure with Ease of Access
c. Multilingual: Built for Bharat
d. Rapid, Iterative and Agile 
Several private sector companies (Tata, Reliance, Mahindra, Khan Academy, IBM, PhonePe, Amul, 
BigBasket, Amazon Web Services, Apollo Hospitals, etc.) and Government bodies (National Industrial 
Corridor Development Corporation [NICDC], Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Road Transport and 
Highways, Ministry of Finance, Quality Control of India, Bank of Baroda, SBI) came together to develop 
seven such products.
Unified Logistics Interface Platform 
Aimed at digitizing India’s supply chain, the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) is designed to 
provide an integrated, vendor-agnostic platform that can be effectively utilized for connecting various 
logistics stakeholders spread across multiple Ministries, enterprises, and associations. ULIP puts into 
practice the vision of PM GatiShakti, built as an open-source mobility stack for achieving the following:
a. A nationwide single window logistics platform for end-to-end visibility for the efficient 
movement of goods
b. A logistics gateway of integrated information across Government agencies throughout the 
logistics supply value chain
c. A secure data exchange between Government and private entities
d. Turbocharge India’s performance in the Global Competitive Index
ULIP is currently being led and developed by NICDC in consultation with NITI Aayog.  
So far, 24 logistics systems of six Ministries/Departments have been mapped through 78 application 
programming interfaces (APIs), covering nearly 1454 fields; more are underway. To further strengthen 
the ecosystem and engage citizens in the process, NITI Aayog in collaboration with Atal Innovation 
Mission, NICDC, and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL), is organizing a hackathon 
68
Annual Report 2021–22
THINK-TANK ACTIVITIES
Page 4


THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
SECTION-V
INTRODUCTION
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog undertook significant steps 
towards mainstreaming technology for achieving 
the development goals of the Government. It 
actively collaborated with the private sector to 
help the country address grave challenges in 
the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from 
continuing to explore the many economic and 
social potential of artificial intelligence and other 
emerging technologies.
This year, India pledged to cut its emissions to net-
zero by 2070 in the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, 
UK. NITI Aayog has taken several steps to promote 
the growth of clean and green energy in the country, 
such as the FAME I and II schemes, methanol 
and hydrogen economies, decarbonizing transport 
initiative, among others. 
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog continued with old 
partnerships and built new ones with various 
countries, think tanks, and educational and policy 
research institutions to create a knowledge, 
innovation and entrepreneurial support system.
Finally, any discussion on NITI Aayog’s contribution 
towards building a robust research and innovation 
ecosystem in the country is incomplete without the 
mention of Atal Innovation Mission and NILERD.
THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
67
Annual Report 2021–22 Annual Report 2021–22
TECHNOLOGY COMMONS
In May 2020, the Hon’ble Prime Minister entrusted NITI Aayog with the responsibility of working with 
the private sector to develop cutting-edge technology products that would enable India to leapfrog in 
the post-Covid era. These products were to be grounded in the principles of ‘Technology Commons’, 
namely:
a. Open Architecture, Modular Design and Interoperability
b. Transparent and Secure with Ease of Access
c. Multilingual: Built for Bharat
d. Rapid, Iterative and Agile 
Several private sector companies (Tata, Reliance, Mahindra, Khan Academy, IBM, PhonePe, Amul, 
BigBasket, Amazon Web Services, Apollo Hospitals, etc.) and Government bodies (National Industrial 
Corridor Development Corporation [NICDC], Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Road Transport and 
Highways, Ministry of Finance, Quality Control of India, Bank of Baroda, SBI) came together to develop 
seven such products.
Unified Logistics Interface Platform 
Aimed at digitizing India’s supply chain, the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) is designed to 
provide an integrated, vendor-agnostic platform that can be effectively utilized for connecting various 
logistics stakeholders spread across multiple Ministries, enterprises, and associations. ULIP puts into 
practice the vision of PM GatiShakti, built as an open-source mobility stack for achieving the following:
a. A nationwide single window logistics platform for end-to-end visibility for the efficient 
movement of goods
b. A logistics gateway of integrated information across Government agencies throughout the 
logistics supply value chain
c. A secure data exchange between Government and private entities
d. Turbocharge India’s performance in the Global Competitive Index
ULIP is currently being led and developed by NICDC in consultation with NITI Aayog.  
So far, 24 logistics systems of six Ministries/Departments have been mapped through 78 application 
programming interfaces (APIs), covering nearly 1454 fields; more are underway. To further strengthen 
the ecosystem and engage citizens in the process, NITI Aayog in collaboration with Atal Innovation 
Mission, NICDC, and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL), is organizing a hackathon 
68
Annual Report 2021–22
THINK-TANK ACTIVITIES
to crowdsource ideas that will benefit the logistics industry. The winning solutions will not only be 
provided capital support but also an opportunity to be a part of the solution propelling PM GatiShakti.
SamShiskha 
SamShiksha is India’s first virtual university with a curated catalogue of courses mapped to the UGC 
curricula with high-quality, low cost, ?exible, outcome-driven degree offerings. Since its beta version 
was launched in February 2021, the platform has enlisted 1200+ free courses relevant for 70% 
students and educators; 22 subjects across six disciplines mapped to college syllabi and created 
three personalized learning pathways (guided library, holistic development, and educator development).
Unnati
A technology platform to digitally enable livelihood access for 22 crore blue and grey collar workers, 
Unnati is open, multi-channel and uses AI backend to match job providers with seekers. With the vision 
to empower ‘Bharat ka Har Shramik’, Unnati aims to become National Career Service 2.0—providing 
predictive intelligence-based skilling suggestions for job-seekers via integration with States, Districts, 
blocks and ITIs of the country. Over 10,000 job seekers and more than 150 employers have explored 
the product and expressed a strong affinity for it.
KYC Setu
This is an instant, cost-effective and completely digital solution to enable KYC using UPI as an 
interoperable infrastructure layer. As simple as making a UPI digital payment, this is an easy plug-and-
play utility that requires minimal work by NPCI, banks and fintech and yet allows instant, secure and 
fully-digital e-KYC platform on any mobile phone. The product has already established its capabilities 
via a pilot that successfully completed over 5 million transactions with SBI cards and Phone Pe. The 
product, powered by a set of APIs, is housed at NPCI and has a dedicated team working on it.
Kaashi
Kaashi is a low-risk lending product for the lower-middle-income class that leverages Direct Benefit 
Transfer (DBT) income for underwriting. The product, currently being led by DFS and NITI Aayog, is 
69
THINK-TANK ACTIVITIES
Annual Report 2021–22
Page 5


THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
SECTION-V
INTRODUCTION
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog undertook significant steps 
towards mainstreaming technology for achieving 
the development goals of the Government. It 
actively collaborated with the private sector to 
help the country address grave challenges in 
the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from 
continuing to explore the many economic and 
social potential of artificial intelligence and other 
emerging technologies.
This year, India pledged to cut its emissions to net-
zero by 2070 in the COP26 Summit in Glasgow, 
UK. NITI Aayog has taken several steps to promote 
the growth of clean and green energy in the country, 
such as the FAME I and II schemes, methanol 
and hydrogen economies, decarbonizing transport 
initiative, among others. 
In 2021–22, NITI Aayog continued with old 
partnerships and built new ones with various 
countries, think tanks, and educational and policy 
research institutions to create a knowledge, 
innovation and entrepreneurial support system.
Finally, any discussion on NITI Aayog’s contribution 
towards building a robust research and innovation 
ecosystem in the country is incomplete without the 
mention of Atal Innovation Mission and NILERD.
THINK-TANK 
ACTIVITIES
67
Annual Report 2021–22 Annual Report 2021–22
TECHNOLOGY COMMONS
In May 2020, the Hon’ble Prime Minister entrusted NITI Aayog with the responsibility of working with 
the private sector to develop cutting-edge technology products that would enable India to leapfrog in 
the post-Covid era. These products were to be grounded in the principles of ‘Technology Commons’, 
namely:
a. Open Architecture, Modular Design and Interoperability
b. Transparent and Secure with Ease of Access
c. Multilingual: Built for Bharat
d. Rapid, Iterative and Agile 
Several private sector companies (Tata, Reliance, Mahindra, Khan Academy, IBM, PhonePe, Amul, 
BigBasket, Amazon Web Services, Apollo Hospitals, etc.) and Government bodies (National Industrial 
Corridor Development Corporation [NICDC], Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Road Transport and 
Highways, Ministry of Finance, Quality Control of India, Bank of Baroda, SBI) came together to develop 
seven such products.
Unified Logistics Interface Platform 
Aimed at digitizing India’s supply chain, the Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) is designed to 
provide an integrated, vendor-agnostic platform that can be effectively utilized for connecting various 
logistics stakeholders spread across multiple Ministries, enterprises, and associations. ULIP puts into 
practice the vision of PM GatiShakti, built as an open-source mobility stack for achieving the following:
a. A nationwide single window logistics platform for end-to-end visibility for the efficient 
movement of goods
b. A logistics gateway of integrated information across Government agencies throughout the 
logistics supply value chain
c. A secure data exchange between Government and private entities
d. Turbocharge India’s performance in the Global Competitive Index
ULIP is currently being led and developed by NICDC in consultation with NITI Aayog.  
So far, 24 logistics systems of six Ministries/Departments have been mapped through 78 application 
programming interfaces (APIs), covering nearly 1454 fields; more are underway. To further strengthen 
the ecosystem and engage citizens in the process, NITI Aayog in collaboration with Atal Innovation 
Mission, NICDC, and NICDC Logistics Data Bank Services Limited (NLDSL), is organizing a hackathon 
68
Annual Report 2021–22
THINK-TANK ACTIVITIES
to crowdsource ideas that will benefit the logistics industry. The winning solutions will not only be 
provided capital support but also an opportunity to be a part of the solution propelling PM GatiShakti.
SamShiskha 
SamShiksha is India’s first virtual university with a curated catalogue of courses mapped to the UGC 
curricula with high-quality, low cost, ?exible, outcome-driven degree offerings. Since its beta version 
was launched in February 2021, the platform has enlisted 1200+ free courses relevant for 70% 
students and educators; 22 subjects across six disciplines mapped to college syllabi and created 
three personalized learning pathways (guided library, holistic development, and educator development).
Unnati
A technology platform to digitally enable livelihood access for 22 crore blue and grey collar workers, 
Unnati is open, multi-channel and uses AI backend to match job providers with seekers. With the vision 
to empower ‘Bharat ka Har Shramik’, Unnati aims to become National Career Service 2.0—providing 
predictive intelligence-based skilling suggestions for job-seekers via integration with States, Districts, 
blocks and ITIs of the country. Over 10,000 job seekers and more than 150 employers have explored 
the product and expressed a strong affinity for it.
KYC Setu
This is an instant, cost-effective and completely digital solution to enable KYC using UPI as an 
interoperable infrastructure layer. As simple as making a UPI digital payment, this is an easy plug-and-
play utility that requires minimal work by NPCI, banks and fintech and yet allows instant, secure and 
fully-digital e-KYC platform on any mobile phone. The product has already established its capabilities 
via a pilot that successfully completed over 5 million transactions with SBI cards and Phone Pe. The 
product, powered by a set of APIs, is housed at NPCI and has a dedicated team working on it.
Kaashi
Kaashi is a low-risk lending product for the lower-middle-income class that leverages Direct Benefit 
Transfer (DBT) income for underwriting. The product, currently being led by DFS and NITI Aayog, is 
69
THINK-TANK ACTIVITIES
Annual Report 2021–22
in the final stages of development and integration with various entities and systems, such as banks, 
UIDAI, NSDL, etc.
Swasth
The Swasth Alliance aims to leverage digital technologies to drive healthcare inclusion in the country and 
improve health outcomes. Swasth has a strong core team, over 200 volunteers and an independent 
board led by Kris Gopalakrishnan.
Krishi Neev
Krishi Neev helped in identifying use cases of a technology platform to promote technology intervention 
in agriculture.  However, it could not translate into conceptualizing an actual common platform. The 
Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare is currently working on an agri-stack, which essentially 
is a data aggregator platform.
FRONTIER TECHNOLOGIES
Responsible AI
1. The National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence (NSAI) released in 2018 highlighted the 
economic and social potential of artificial intelligence (AI). AI is expected to boost India’s 
annual growth rate by 1.3% by 2035 and has the potential for large-scale adoption in 
a variety of social sectors towards ‘AI for All’. The growth of AI has not been without 
challenges. Examples of bias, lack of explainability, and privacy violations have raised 
concerns around the world and inhibited the adoption and growth of AI in India.
2. The Data Management and Analysis, and Frontier Technologies Vertical held a series 
of consultations, with support from the WEF, for identifying a strategy for responsible 
management of AI in India. Part 1 of the two-part strategy document focusing on 
principles was released in February 2021, while Part 2 covering the proposed enforcement 
mechanisms was released in August 2021.
3. Future discourse in the direction of specific sectoral approaches for Responsible AI is 
currently in progress.
Emerging Technologies
In addition to the above, the Vertical is currently working on policy documents on various other areas, 
including XR Strategy, promoting ed-tech and legal-tech in a seamless manner, building bio-banks, etc.
Pilot Projects
1. Clinical Decision Support System: A study to assess the feasibility of the use of 
declarative AI-based Clinical Decision Support System and pathway technology for maternal 
and pediatric health journeys was carried out in collaboration with Lady Hardinge Medical 
College, Elsevier-Relix and Piramal Swasthya. The project was implemented in Bahraich, 
Uttar Pradesh; it concluded in May 2021, with the project report released subsequently.
2. AI Anthropometry: Identification of low birth-weight babies using AI-enabled and 
smartphone-based anthropometry for timely medical interventions was undertaken. The 
research study on the same is being conducted in the Aspirational Districts of Balrampur, 
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Annual Report 2021–22
THINK-TANK ACTIVITIES