As India continues on its trajectory of economic development, it is expected to add about 270 million citizens to its cities over the next 20 years. Given the large challenges attendant upon such rapid urbanization, identifying pathways of sustainable development becomes vital to ensure that the country is able to fulfill the dream of Viksit Bharat 2047 – the vision for a developed nation in the 100th year of independence – for every Indian. The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems can help solve some of the main data collection and coordination problems in the sustainable development and management of Indian cities. This is how: Currently, a building authority that has to decide whether to grant or deny a zoning change application for a patch of wetlands in the city must rely on precedents, arguments, and even speculation to make its decision. However, AI-based decision support systems could quickly produce simulated scenarios for the future, showing what effect the decision on zoning change would have on a wide array of economic, environmental, and development outcomes for the city. Again, for public transport to appear as a viable alternative to car owners, it is vital that last-mile connectivity to bus and Metro rail services be seamlessly and predictably available. Broadly speaking, pulling together information from multiple sources repeatedly over time, assisting with decisions that involve a large number of factors, and performing routine actions with high reliability and precision are aspects of city management that AI systems can take over and perform better than humans. The Government of India identified urban sustainability as a key area for development and integration of AI-based systems, announcing the formation of three centres for AI in the areas of agriculture, health, and urban sustainability with an overall budget of Rs 990 crore in its Budget Announcement of 2023-24 with the mandate to ‘Make AI in India and Make AI work for India’. Following a two-stage selection process, with an industry-led apex committee chaired by Zoho Corp founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu selecting from among 55 consortiums headed by higher education institutes of repute, the Airawat consortium, led by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, as its administrative anchor, was selected as the National Centre for AI for Sustainable Cities. The Centre will serve as the national hub for research, education, and translational activities integrating AI systems with urban sustainability objectives for years to come. Two other centers anchored in IIT Ropar, and co-anchored by IIT Delhi and AIIMS Delhi, will galvanize effective AI ecosystems in agriculture and health respectively. Airawat, which I lead, contains nearly all leading Indian academic and industrial organizations at the forefront of sustainability research and practices. Airawat’s focus for the first four years of its existence will be on developing AI-based systems for enhancing the efficiency of India’s energy distribution networks, deploying systems for multimodal urban transit planning on an open source platform, creating decision support interfaces for creation of traffic and road infrastructure, producing low-cost, high-precision air and water quality estimates amenable to local governance interventions, and digitally transforming local governance through the creation and adoption of a digital twin for municipal functions enhanced by AI utilities. Airawat has received tremendous support from leading Indian industry partners. Adani Industries are working closely with the project to identify opportunities to enhance energy distribution efficiencies. Tata Consultancy Services are collaborating with Airawat to create models of urban metabolism that allow us to understand the effects of change in land usage on the risk of floods, air quality, and a number of other sustainability parameters. The eGovernance Foundation has co-developed a plan for the creation of the next generation of its renowned DIGIT platform for urban governance as part of the ambit of Airawat’s activities. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MOHUA) has offered consistent and detailed oversight and guidance for Airawat’s activities, a role which they will continue to play throughout the project’s lifetime. India is working against the clock in its attempt to get rich before it gets old within the next two decades. Given the degree of ecosystem degradation that has already been inflicted upon the planet by other countries as part of their economic development trajectories, and India’s reliance on imports for its non-renewable energy production, we must necessarily carve out a trajectory for sustainable development that works both for the current generation and the ones that are to follow. It is my firm belief that, in doing so, Bharat will firmly grasp the mantle of Vishwaguru that it held in ages past, and stand as a beacon of hope for the world. Airawat will leave no stone unturned in transforming this belief into reality. Sachchida Nand Tripathi is Dean, Kotak School of Sustainability, IIT Kanpur. Prof Tripathi's research interests cover a wide range of subjects, and he is one of India's most eminent climate change and air quality scientists.
