Where will the “Artificial Intelligence of Things Innovation Hub” be established in the Rajasthan ?
- (1)Kota
- (2)Bikaner
- (3)Jodhpur
- (4)Jaipur
Answer
Why
Correct — option (3), Jodhpur.
The AIoT Innovation Hub is planned at the Technology Park of IIT Jodhpur, in Jodhpur. The Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) describes it, in a 2023 version of its page, as the "Establishment of an Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIOT) fabrication facility" at "the Technology Park of IITJ".
The same page records: "An agreement to create a joint venture was signed on 22nd February 2022 between RISL, JCKIF and IIT Jodhpur." RISL is RajCOMP Info Services Limited, a Government of Rajasthan company.
The groundwork was laid earlier. On 28 September 2021, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of a Fab Lab for AIoT Systems at IIT Jodhpur, PIB reported.
The idea to remember: Rajasthan's AIoT Innovation Hub is planned as a joint venture of RISL, JCKIF and IIT Jodhpur, at IIT Jodhpur's Technology Park.
Why the others are wrong
- (1)Kota — Kota is not the site of the AIoT hub, which the 22 February 2022 agreement places at IIT Jodhpur.
Kota appears in a different technology plan: the Rajasthan Budget Speech 2023-24 said R-CAT centres would be opened next year at the divisional headquarters of Ajmer, Kota, Bharatpur, Bikaner and Udaipur.
- (2)Bikaner — Bikaner is not where the AIoT Innovation Hub is planned; JCKIF's page places the facility at the Technology Park of IIT Jodhpur.
Rajasthan's Economic Review 2022-23 lists Bikaner among the places with a working iStart Nest, part of the State's start-up programme, which is a separate initiative.
- (4)Jaipur — Jaipur is the State capital and hosts the Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Advance Technology (R-CAT), which the Budget Speech 2023-24 says was set up there to train youth in technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The AIoT Innovation Hub is a different project, agreed on 22 February 2022 by RISL, JCKIF and IIT Jodhpur, and sited at IIT Jodhpur.
Concept
Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) joins two technologies. The Internet of Things links sensors and devices so that they collect and share data; artificial intelligence analyses that data and acts on it.
At IIT Jodhpur the Vice President put it this way: "The convergence of these two technologies unleashes the power of data and automation and facilitates the development of the next generation of intelligent and connected systems."
JCKIF says the hub's fabrication facility is meant for "end-to-end design, development, prototyping, and pilot production of AIOT systems".
RPSC's 2023 syllabus lists "Computers, Information and Communication Technology" and "Development of Science and Technology with special reference to Rajasthan" under Science & Technology.
Jodhpur holds several of the State's technology projects. IIT Jodhpur was founded in 2008, and the Rajasthan Budget Speech 2023-24 notes R-CAT courses in an interim campus under the Rajiv Gandhi Fintech Digital University cum Institute in Jodhpur.
JCKIF lists the hub's intended application areas as including Industry 4.0, healthcare, agriculture, transportation, energy, water, and surveillance and security.
Key facts
- 28 September 2021: Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone of a Fab Lab for AIoT Systems at IIT Jodhpur (PIB).
- 22 February 2022: an agreement to create a joint venture for the AIoT Innovation Hub was signed between RISL, JCKIF and IIT Jodhpur.
- The hub's fabrication facility is planned at the Technology Park of IIT Jodhpur.
- In 2023, JCKIF's page said it was progressing to register the hub as a Section 8 (not-for-profit) company with RISL and JCKIF as shareholders.
- AIoT combines artificial intelligence with the Internet of Things.
Sources: PIB (28 September 2021) and a 2023 version of JCKIF's AIoT Innovation Hub page.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking Jaipur because R-CAT is there. The AIoT hub is planned at IIT Jodhpur's Technology Park.
- Mixing up two events: the Vice President laid the foundation stone of the AIoT fab lab on 28 September 2021, and RISL, JCKIF and IIT Jodhpur signed the joint venture agreement on 22 February 2022.
- Treating the hub as already running. In 2023 JCKIF's page said it was still progressing to register it as a company.
A question can ask in which Rajasthan city a technology hub, university or centre is to be set up, or which bodies signed the agreement behind it.
A question can also ask what a technology term such as AIoT combines.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2021 and 2018 here once those papers are published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
The agreement of 22 February 2022 to create a joint venture for the AIoT Innovation Hub at IIT Jodhpur was signed by IIT Jodhpur, the Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Foundation and
- (a)RajCOMP Info Services Limited (RISL)
- (b)Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)
- (c)Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)
- (d)Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Answer(1) — JCKIF's page records the agreement as signed between RISL, JCKIF and IIT Jodhpur. Options (2), (3) and (4) are not named as parties to it. - practice — not a real PYQ
Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) combines artificial intelligence with which of the following?
- (a)Blockchain
- (b)Internet of Things
- (c)Quantum computing
- (d)Augmented reality
Answer(2) — AIoT is the convergence of artificial intelligence with the Internet of Things, the network of connected sensors and devices. Options (1), (3) and (4) are separate technologies.