Page 31 - Mann ki Baat English Feb 2026

productivity, governance and dairy farmers, enabling them to
livelihoods. significantly optimise yields.
In India, this transformation In healthcare, AI-assisted
is unfolding bottom-up, not top- diagnostics are helping
down. Rather than replacing frontline workers detect high-
people, India is building AI to risk pregnancies and chronic
augment humans and bridge conditions early, saving lives at
critical gaps where expertise or the grassroots. We are even using
talent is limited. For example, in AI to preserve cultural heritage: AI
rural India where panchayats are digitises, interprets and translates
facing shortages of secretaries ancient manuscripts, making
(Sachivs), tools like AI Sachiv Ji fragile knowledge accessible to
(being piloted in Jharkhand) future generations.
provide Sarpanches with instant, These are not isolated
context-aware, multilingual experiments but expressions
guidance on government of a core conviction reflecting:
schemes, compliance intelligence must not remain
requirements, fund flows and confined to elite silos. It must be
administrative processes. This widely distributed — as a right
brings real-time intelligence to access, empowerment, and
directly to the smallest unit participation in the future.
of governance, empowering I believe that India’s AI journey
local leaders to make informed rests on three non-negotiable
decisions, strengthening principles:
democracy at the grassroots 1. Human First : AI
level. augments human judgment
In agriculture, we are using vs replacing it. A Sarpanch
AI tools to monitor cattle health, becomes more effective, a nurse
predict disease risks, and deliver more confident, a farmer more
simple, actionable insights to informed.

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