Arjun Rajasekar describes how pallor detection is being used by the Raj Reddy Center for Technology and Society (RCTS) as a non-invasive method of detecting anemia. Capitalizing on the rise of AI and the ubiquity of consumer smart devices, RCTS has been exploring AI applications to improve maternal and child well-being. One of the first medical conditions chosen for exploration has been anemia, a globally prevalent issue affecting approximately 29.9% of women aged 15–49 and 39.8% of children aged 6–59 months in 2019. These rates are even higher in India, with estimates from the National Family Health Survey indicating that over 50% of women and 59% of children aged 6–59 months are anemic to varying degrees. Such widespread prevalence poses a substantial public health challenge. Anemia is characterized by a deficiency in the number of red blood cells or the hemoglobin concentration within them, resulting in a diminished capacity to transport oxygen to bodily tissues.

Prof. Ramesh Loganathan has clarified that it is a myth that jobs will be lost due to artificial intelligence (AI). He suggested that employees in the IT sector should update themselves to new technology. He said that out of the total 10 lakh IT employees in Hyderabad, only 20-30 thousand are working using AI. He said that AI will not have any impact on engineering education. Just as civil and mechanical engineers are software employees, anyone who has completed any course in engineering can get qualified AI jobs. He said that there is currently a need for graduates in all fields, and there is a worrying situation in the construction and manufacturing sectors where there is a shortage of civil and mechanical engineers. In an exclusive interview with ‘Namasthe Telangana’, he shared several interesting facts about the impact AI will have on engineering education as well as the IT sector.

In an ET Education exclusive conversation, Sheeba Chauhan, Senior Associate, ET Education delved into India’s tech education ecosystem with Prof P J Narayanan, Director of International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. India is now the second-largest higher education system in the world— home to over 1,100 universities. This expansive landscape focuses on research, deep-tech innovation, startup culture, and much more. One such trailblazer is the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad — a pioneer in AI, computer vision, robotics, natural language processing, and more. In this ET Education exclusive conversation, we delved into “What it takes to build a deep-tech academic powerhouse” with Prof. P J Narayanan, Director of International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad