Bhubaneswar, 19th October 2024: A ‘Brainstorming Workshop on Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Odisha’ was held today at Odisha State Convention Centre, Lok Seva Bhavan. The above Workshop was organised by the Electronics and IT Dept., Govt. of Odisha. Senior representatives from the government, academia, industry, and international organisations participated in the workshop.
This workshop is part of a series of initiatives that Government of Odisha is undertaking to catalyse the development of Odisha’s AI eco-system. The insights and deliberations from the brainstorming workshop will play a critical role in the development of Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Odisha. They will also enable the state to align its AI strategy with the objectives of India AI Mission, believed delegates.
Development Commissioner-cum-ACS Odisha Smt. Anu Garg, Principal Secretary Electronics and IT Department Shri Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department Shri Sushil Kumar Lohani, Principal Secretary Commerce and Transport Department Smt. Usha Padhee, Principal Secretary Women and Child Development Department Smt. Shubha Sarma, Principal Secretary Skill Development and Technical Education Department Shri NBS Rajput, Principal Secretary Information and Public Relations Department Shri Sanjay Singh, Secretary Higher Education Department Shri Aravind Agarwal, Special Secretary E&IT Department Shri Manas Panda, and other senior officials from Government of Odisha were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, Development Commissioner-cum-ACS Odisha said, “Odisha is experiencing accelerated growth across all sectors. The increasing adoption of AI in the state will further augment this process. However, there is a need to ensure that AI adoption also benefits the marginalised groups and is based on the principles of equity. This workshop will enable the Government to learn about the global best practices in AI and adopt and scale them in Odisha.”
Principal Secretary E&IT Department added, “We have initiated the process to develop Odisha’s AI Strategy and formulate its AI Policy. We have great ambitions in this field. We want to contribute to the development of India’s compute capacity, indigenous foundational models, datasets, and AI start-ups. Through these measures, we will create a robust AI eco-system in the State and foster greater collaboration between academia, industry, and the government.”
Representatives from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, International Innovation Corps, University of California-Berkeley, Samagra, Apurva.ai, People+AI, and Wadhwani Foundation made detailed presentations in the workshop.
The presentations encompassed themes such as the strategic initiatives being undertaken by the Government of India under India AI Mission, sustainability considerations during AI adoption, digital infrastructure requirements such as local compute capacity for AI ecosystem development, AI use cases in sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, education, and disaster management, workforce development for AI, ethical and regulatory frameworks required for AI adoption, financing for AI start-ups, need for indigenous computational models, AI models servicing local needs, and other relevant themes.
The presentations were followed by a panel discussion which witnessed participation of senior academics from IIT Bhubaneswar, IIIT Bhubaneswar, BPUT, OUTR, and VSSUT, senior officials from the World Bank, and industry leaders from Accenture, TCS, IBM, Infosys, Cognizant, and NASSCOM. The participants discussed the AI focused research initiatives that have been taken in different universities across Odisha, the academic programs which have been started at undergraduate, graduate, and PhD level, the AI based products and services that are being offered by the industry, and the need to ensure that Odisha’s AI strategy is action-oriented.
As an emerging technological domain, AI is transforming all sectors. The Government of India has made AI a national priority and allocated more than INR 10,000 crores under the IndiaAI Mission. This mission is focused on fostering research, innovation, and the adoption of AI technologies across industries. Through its dedicated initiatives, Government of Odisha is complementing this national vision and ensuring that both India and Odisha become global leaders in AI development and deployment.
Today’s successful workshop has paved the way for Odisha to develop an Artificial Intelligence Strategy that accelerates the state’s growth and empowers its people to fulfil their potential.
