Latest News | 'India Very Slow to Adopt Newer Tech when Compared to Nations Like US, Australia'

New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) India is "very slow" to adopt newer technologies when compared to nations like the US and Australia, and there is a need to invest in the research and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in the mining sector, a top official said on Thursday.

The benefits of the potential applications of AI and internet of things (IoT) is enormous for industries like mining in the country, Coal Additional Secretary M Nagaraju said.

He added that it would lead to cost saving, higher productivity, improvement in quality and bring efficiency in the system.

"India is actually very slow to adopt newer technologies when compared to let's say Australia, Canada or even the US.

"We are far far lagging behind, maybe because of our past history or lack of investment in this sector... We are still far behind... There is a need for us industry to focus and invest in the technologies," he said.

IoT is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines that are provided with unique identifiers. It has the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

"I think we need to have much more closer cooperation between the research bodies in the country and the industry... We need to invest on the research and applications of the AI and OTT (over-the-top) for the mining," he said.

The additional secretary further said "the reasons why we are lagging in the use of these technologies are also the reasons why we can actually adopt much more quickly compared to the advanced countries in the mining (sector)."

He also expressed hopes that the larger industry leaders in the country would take the lead in introducing cutting-edge technologies. That will not be only to improve their own productivity but also to demonstrate to the others the viability of these technologies so that the country moves forward, Nagaraju added.

Jindal Steel and Power Chairman Naveen Jindal was of the view that digital mining is a reality now and sooner, "we adopt these technologies, the better it will be". HRS hrs hrs

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)