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Innovation Challenge Fund (ICF)Concept Note Template 1.Name / Organisation Rajeev Garg / The Gems & Jewellery Skills Council of India (GJSCI, Section 8 company)2.Email address / Phone numberceo@ / 704 284 48333.Title of ProjectThe revival of jobs lost due to COVID-19 related migration of labour in the Gems & Jewellery industry using Artificial Intelligence / Data Science.4.Application for ICF ClusterAI/Data Science, Karnataka5.Co-Members of the Consortium *(Type – Indian Academia, Indian Business, International Academia, International Business, Indian non-commercial organisation, International non-commercial organisation, Other - specify)* Information not mandatory for the concept note stage.#OrganizationType1.Indian Academic2.Indian Business3.4.We are in the process of building the consortium. The plan is to have a consortium that will include an Indian Academia like IIT, Indian Business or IT company and a Technology Platform for cloud hosted solution.6.If you do not already have agreed consortium members, please indicate here the kind of partners you would like to hear from. We will be happy to hear from International Business, Indian Academic, Indian Business to build the consortium with optimum skillsets.7. Are you content for us to publish your concept note on our web platform in order to encourage potential consortium members to reach out to you? Yes8.Funding Requested (up to ?250k)(Please give an indicative value in ?) Indicative funding requested approx. GBP 250k9.Co-funding provided (if any) and sourceYes (If yes then provide source and amount)In addition, GJSCI (as the leader of the consortium) is ready to put in GBP 50k as funding (i.e. Rs 50 Lakhs @ Exchange Rate 95).10.Please summarise your Innovation Challenge Fund research project in one sentence. 350 character limitThe project is to build a re-start launchpad for the migrant labour force of the Gems & Jewellery industry by facilitating better new age templates like remote working automation through AI/ML/DS technologies, bringing together two key strengths of India i.e. Gems & Jewellery Industry (with artisanal skills) and IT industry (with AI-DS skills).[[ 346 characters ]]11.Please describe your project further. What problem does your pilot seek to address? Who are the potential beneficiaries and other stakeholders? What are the inputs and activities, and what are the outputs? What does success look like after 12 months of funded research? How will your solution reach the market place? 2500 character limitProblem StatementGJSCI, initiated a professional feasibility study in 2020 to come up with an action plan on technology-led disruption.Over the past few months, there has been a huge disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the biggest impacts has been felt on the traditional setups like the Gems & Jewellery industry. There has been a flight of labour, sometimes to the tune of 40-50% of workforce, from urban areas. This disruption has dented the living conditions of the migrant labour and the capacity of companies to fulfil demand.This project seeks to approach the issues from a technology angle. The proposed pilot proposes the use of AI / ML / DS techniques to address the above issues through:-Democratization & decentralization of the jewellery design & human resources-Labour workforce across the genders-Better automation techniques in the industry, manufacturers to retailers.-Across the Gold, Diamond, Gemstones, Silver, Wood, Brass and Platinum areasWork so-farGJSCI has already taken the first few steps to create the groundwork for this project during the lockdown phase. They commissioned a professional feasibility report to understand issues faced by the companies. This was conducted through extensive discussions with the stakeholders. It has unearthed pain points that could be selected for the pilot.The detailed report related to the above and its presentations are available with GJSCI and can be shared with the UK-India Tech Partnership.Beneficiaries The beneficiaries of this project are as follows:-Migrant labour force scattered across the length and breadth of India-SME companies in the industry who cannot leverage the technology benefits-Boosting growth for the new artisans who wish to join the industry-Companies in the design, manuf., supply chain, retail stores, domestic and export markets.Inputs & Output Activities Inputs are data related:-Migration of labour-Pain points of the industry that has been aggravated by pandemic-Various processesOutputs are:-Pilot of better data driven models based on AI / DS techniques-Decentralization of activities (e.g. Jewellery design) -Algorithms & recommendation engine for disruptive workingBroad Timelines & FutureThe Year 1 plan is on the theme of “Prove” by running of pilot and analyse results based on actionable insights with active participation of the industry.The project can be continued beyond the first year under the GJSCI umbrella and become self-sustaining.[[2476 characters]]12.What is ‘technological’ about your proposed solution and why might this be appropriate to the challenge areas?1000 character limitThe proposed project is about leveraging the latest technology of Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Machine Learning and harnessing the power of Cloud computing for the traditional industry of Gems & Jewellery. Four major technology platform options can be considered for the proposed project.Microsoft Azure / Cognitive ServicesAmazon Web Services (AWS)IBM WatsonGoogle TensorFlowThe above technology platforms are backed by the most reputed companies in the IT business i.e., Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Google. These companies put in a lot of effort, money, and research the development and enhancements of the AI / ML features.To dig one level deeper, these platforms provide the following technology dimensions:User-friendly “Drag and Drop” approach to building pilots & experimentsData inputs from extensive resources, privacy & data governanceSupport for both Python and RWide range of supported algorithms & security [[ 946 characters ]]13.Is your proposed solution a response to the impacts of COVID-19, or an effort to contain the pandemic? If so, please explain. 1000 character limit The COVID-19 has two distinct devastating effects across the world. The first one is Medical, and the second is Economic.This proposed project deals with the economic impact of the COVID-19.-The estimated disruption due to labour migration job losses is about 40-50%.-The resolution of a negative impact on the 7 million existing artisans and a growing number of skilled and semi-skilled workers who plan to join the industry. As per the current projections, the industry will grow to about 10 million people in the coming years.-The MSME companies in this industry in India can leapfrog using the latest technology of AI / DS.The proposed AI / DS based pilot is to negate the current negative impact created by the pandemic, job losses of the migrating labour force and to bring long term positive disruption. The reduction in time-to-market of the jewellery components and hence increased throughput on the production / sales will attract more talent to the industry.[[ 972 characters]]14.Does your proposed solution contribute to combatting climate change or promoting a greener planet? If so, please explain. 1000 character limitThe proposed project will address some real pain points faced by the industry and has an impact on promoting greener planet. For example, the following are two such scenarios.- Casting is one of the techniques used in this industry. There are several technical issues that hampers the efficient use of resources and cross learnings. It leads to a lot of rework which has negative environmental impacts. One of the key use cases of the proposed projects can help solve the issues around casting by the use of data-driven techniques and establishing wider parameters based on machine learning to drive down the rework.- The industry works predominantly in the MSME segment with thousands of companies located in key urban hubs of Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata. A chunk of this work is related to the design of the jewellery pieces. With the technology arsenal of AI / DS / ML, some of this can happen from across the country with the artisans working from all parts of India.[[ 981 characters]]15.How is your proposal relevant to the development challenges of India? 1000 character limitThe key developmental challenge for India is the growing skilled and semiskilled workforce and how to provide access to gainful work. One of the ways to address this is by using new technology like AI / DS.The proposed project is a forward-looking initiative to bring together the strengths of two big sectors in the Indian industrial scene. The Gems & Jewellery Industry in India contributes to about 7% of India’s GDP and over 35 Billion USD in gross exports. India’s share in the world diamond market is 70% by value, 90% by volume and 92% by unit pieces. The Indian IT Industry has also become the world’s powerhouse of cutting-edge technology development and implementation across the world.To quote from UK-India Tech Partnership objectives from the website - “Tech Clusters will support the development of Indian Tech Clusters by breaking down barriers to growth, including building international links.”This proposed project intends to address this point.[[ 963 characters]]16.What consideration have you made of gender in developing your concept? Could your project address gender inequality or other kinds of inequality? 1000 character limitMultiple equalities have been in-built in this proposed project by design. Here are a few scenarios envisaged which will help to address various biases in the society. Gender equality: The project will aid the remote working culture in the traditional field of Gems & Jewellery. This will be achieved at the jewellery design stage itself and will promote the participation of both genders.Regional equality: By decentralizing the various functions, the remote working can bring in the workforce from across the country into the mainstream without the need to be physically present in the metro / urban centers.[[ 610 characters ]]Notes: Please be kindly reminded of the primary criteria: relevance to the environmental and/or C19 agenda. See boxes 13 and 14. Except box 5, all boxes require mandatory response.In the interests of fairness, proposals that exceed the character limits will not be considered. ................
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