In news

The Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) and Microsoft signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a strategic partnership to build an AI and emerging technologies Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM.

Working

• The collaboration seeks to explore the role of cloud, AI and emerging technologies for transforming and shaping the future of public finance management in India.
  
• The Centre of Excellence will serve as a central body for research, AI scenario envisioning and tech led innovation.
  
• AJNIFM and Microsoft will jointly explore use cases of emerging technologies in finance and related areas, across central and state ministries and public sector enterprises.
  
• Microsoft will partner closely with AJNIFM to define the future of public finance management in India, providing the technology, tools and resources to build a strong ecosystem of partners, upskill government officials and build thought leadership. 
  
• Both organizations will also work closely on a capacity building program for senior government officials in associated ministries, departments and financial institutions.
• As part of this skilling effort, public sector officials will be trained on the application of emerging technologies in finance management to address potential risks like money laundering, use of machine learning models for decision making, role of responsible tech in finance, etc. 

Area of focus

• Building an innovation centre: Joint development of a Centre of Excellence at AJNIFM to drive AI envisioning in finance management across key associated ministries of AJNIFM.
• Industry thought leadership: Microsoft and AJNIFM will jointly develop research papers and organize strategic knowledge sharing workshops with industry experts to discuss the role of cloud, data and AI for re-imagining public finance management in India.
• Reskilling and capacity building: Developers at AJNIFM and senior government officials from associated ministries will be skilled in data engineering, data sciences, AI and machine learning etc.
• Creating a strong ecosystem of partners: Engaging ecosystem partners, academia and MSMEs to drive innovation in financial management based on priority scenarios.

About AJNIFM

• The Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM) is a Centre of Excellence specialising in capacity building of professionals in the fields of Public Policy, Financial
• Management and other governance issues for promoting highest standards of professional competence and practice.
  
• AJNIFM was set up in 1993 as a registered society under Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
  
• AJNIFM plays a pivotal role in governance and administrative reforms by providing a platform for interaction and exchange of ideas and experiences among officers from different organized services, different state governments and between personnel of civil and defense establishments.
  
• AJNIFM has become a premier resource center to meet the training needs of Central Government for senior and middle level management.

About Microsoft India

Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990.

Source: PIB