1mn pound AI health programme may help tackle disease in India'

An ambitious one million pound programme that will bring several artificial intelligence (AI) companies from the UK to help tackle diseases in Indian hospitals and health centres was announced here Wednesday.

The announcement was made at the India-UK FutureTech Fest (FTF) which brought together over 200 companies and 1,000 delegates, British High Commission said in a statement.

The festival featured several Indian and UK Tech companies, along with scientists, policy-makers and entrepreneurs, the statement said.

One of the programmes launched at the event aims to bring some of the best AI health companies from the UK to deploy their solutions in India's hospitals and primary health centres, it said.

The programme focuses on diagnostic AI that can tackle some of the biggest diseases in India.

Five companies have been short-listed for the first phase and were announced at the Festival.

"When Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Theresa May announced the India-UK Tech Partnership back in April, they put the enabling power of tech at the heart of our bilateral relationship," Dominic Asquith, British High Commissioner to India said in the statement.

"The UK-India partnership has embraced wholeheartedly the challenges and opportunities tech brings, with an exciting agenda promising to maintain both countries' position at the forefront of the tech revolution," he said.

"The UK is a natural partner to India in our mutual interests and ambitions in technology, and our collaboration is overseen by the highest offices in both countries," the statement quoted Amitabh Kant, CEO NITI Aayog, as saying.

"India could potentially be the Tech Garage for the rest of the world, and we are keen to invite the best technology companies and solutions to India -- in areas like healthcare, manufacturing, mobility, finTech etc," Kant said.