Centre launches four AI Missions, including, National UBI and Chatbot AI digital technologies for the disabled to ensure ease of services

Bangalore: The Government of India’s Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, in collaboration with Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) here at The National Conference on AI for Empowering Persons with Disabilities launched four major digital and technology missions to aid persons with disabilities in receiving government and societal services in the areas of education, healthcare, livelihood, and everyday life.

The four missions, 1) Mission AI Accessibility, 2) Implementation of AI in Assistive Technology and Tools for Empowering People with Disabilities, 3) National Disability Support AI Chat Bot, and 4) Unified Benefits Interface (UBI), modelled on the widespread and popular UPI financial technological tool, were launched by Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, DEPwD in the presence of a government officials, technology experts from IITs and AIIMS, Technology Entrepreneurs and citizens. Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, DEPwD, unveiling the National AI Missions for Persons with Disabilities said: “India now has one billion digital Aadhaar IDs, the digi-locker which can have all physical documents in digital form in just one device, and the UPI (Unified Payments Interface) which has made financial transactions easy. We are extending this digital footprint for persons with disabilities by digitalising and automating a series of government benefits, schemes and policies, to reach beneficiaries within 24 hours in the areas of education, health, livelihood and finance.

Disabled students will receive scholarships in their accounts in 24 hours from now on and people with health problems can interact with a chatbot to clarify and seek medical and health advisory services from home itself and the UBI will ensure digital and technological interaction between disabled people and the government to ensure services are delivered without bureaucratic delays and hindrances. The interaction will be direct, easy and seamless, made possible by AI.” Mr. Prateek Madhav, Member of the Steering Committee of NITI Aayog instituted to design the National Strategic Framework of Assistive Technology (AT) in India with the objective of making India a Global Hub of Assistive Technology, and Co-Founder and CEO of AssisTech Foundation (ATF), which has changed the lives of a million disabled people, said: “We are working with the Government to ensure that persons with disabilities, particularly learners, are equipped with the right Assistive Technologies (AT) – screen readers, Braille displays, sign language plugins, speech recognition tools, and adaptive input devices – to ensure an hindrance-free everyday life as well as seamless and easy interaction and practical working in the fields of education, health, and livelihood to enable persons with disabilities have a hurdle-free reception of benefits.