Hyderabad, July 8 -- A new global report by consulting firm BCG and technology investor Prosus has pointed to artificial intelligence as a potential tool to bridge healthcare and access gaps in Telangana, citing the state's own Saagu Baagu initiative as a model for how this can work.

The report, titled "AI for All," singles out Saagu Baagu, a Telangana government programme that combines soil testing with AI-based crop advisory for farmers, as a national example of AI being used to solve access problems rather than simply improve efficiency for those already well served. According to the report, the initiative helped reduce input use for farmers by about nine percent, translating into meaningful income gains per acre for the state's farmi...