NEC and IIT Mumbai Sign MoU at Sanjeev Sinha led AI Forum at Tokyo Embassy

New Delhi, Delhi, India, 30th October 2019: Mr. Sanjeev Sinha led India Japan Partnership Fund and Group organized the 5th India Japan AI Forum at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo where Japan’s mega corporate NEC and IIT Mumbai signed an MoU for an AI and Robotics Centre in Mumbai. The signing was also witnessed by the Indian Ambassador Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Chairman of AI Strategy Committee at the Cabinet Office of Japan Prof. Yuichiro Anzai and sponsor of the center Mr. Sharad Saraf who is also the President of Federation of Indian Export Organizations, Technocraft and India Japan Partnership Fund and Group’s Benten Technologies working on bilateral promotion. Director of IIT Mumbai Dr. Subhasis Chaudhuri and the head of AI Platform of NEC were the main signatories for the MoU.

NEC and IIT Mumbai Sign MoU at Sanjeev Sinha led AI Forum at Tokyo Embassy
Left to right: Sanjeev Sinha, President, India Japan Partnership Fund and Group; Hirohito Iseki, General Manager, AI Platform, NEC Corporation; Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director, IIT Bombay; Prof. Yuichiro Anzai, Chairman, AI Strategy, Cabinet Office of Japan; H.E. Sanjay Kumar Verma, Ambassador of India to Japan; Sharad Saraf, President, Benten Technology, Technocraft Industries, FIEO

Mr. Sanjeev Sinha, President of India Japan Partnership Fund and Group and IIT Alumni Association of Japan, opened the session with an overview of the relationship between IITs and other premier institutions of India with Japan. Mr. Sinha described the major role in the process of the IIT Japan Conference in 2007 www.IITJapan.org hosted by Prof. Yuichiro Anzai, then President of Keio University, which initiated Japan’s collaboration with a new IIT in India, namely IIT Hyderabad.

Prof. Anzai also reminded the audience of the 2007 conference led organized by Mr. Sanjeev Sinha to have created a huge brand for Indian human resource in Japan resulting in major hiring by Japanese corporates from IITs and other Indian universities. Mr. Anzai having been the President of approximately 2 billion USD per year funding agency JSPS also gave an overview of AI and Cyber Security related initiatives and the need for stronger India Japan partnership. His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Sanjay Kumar Verma emphasized the huge potential in the bilateral collaboration.

IIT Mumbai Director Prof. Subhasis Choudhuri gave an overview of IIT Mumbai to more than 120 of Japanese corporate and academic audience invited by Mr. Sanjeev Sinha to the occasion. Mr. Sharad Saraf shared an overview of Federation of Indian Export Organization and the potential collaboration between Japanese technology and Indian human resource to export from India. Mr. Sinha closed the session with announcement of the forthcoming delegation of Mr. Pawar of Sakal Group led by Prof. Sanjay Dhande who as then Director of IIT Kanpur was the chief guest from India on the 2007 IIT Japan conference and later received Padma Shree and got appointed as Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on related matters.

Mr. Sanjeev Sinha, President of India Japan Partnership Fund and Group, has been in Japan for 23 years starting in AI with his contribution to Mobileye, now approximately 20 billion USD autonomous driving systems company. Mr. Sinha then moved to Goldman Sachs, Mizuho Securities and as Chief Representative in Japan for Tata Asset Management and Tata Realty and Infra funds. Mr. Sinha, being the first IITian from his town Barmer, founded IIT Alumni Association in Japan and has authored four books in Japanese and one in Taiwanese from leading publishers which have promoted India Japan relations across finance, technology, HR and global diplomacy. Besides leading the investment banking group IJPG Mr. Sinha is also invited to various Japanese government committees, universities and Rockefeller’s Asia Society Japan Chapter.