Bhubaneswar, Dec 19 (IANS) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Friday emphasised the state government’s commitment to building an AI-powered Odisha, aimed at strengthening governance, accelerating service delivery, and empowering citizens through citizen-centric innovations.

In his virtual address during the inauguration of the Regional AI Impact Conference, Odisha, CM Majhi on Friday said, “We are not merely adopting AI, we are building the foundation of an AI-powered Odisha. This will strengthen governance, speed of service delivery, and empower citizens. India is undergoing a historic technical transformation, and Odisha is proud to be an active and ambitious partner in this national movement.”

The inauguration of the Regional AI Impact Conference marked the commencement of a high-level two-day convening focused on advancing AI for governance, development, and public good.

According to the official statement, the two-day conference is the official precursor to the AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled to be held in New Delhi in February 2026.

It also positions Odisha alongside Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Gujarat, Telangana, and Kerala, playing a key role in building the momentum ahead of the AI Impact Summit 2026.

On the first day of the Conference, the experts deliberated on various important themes such as Transformation Roadmaps for AI in Indian States, Impact of AI Research and Innovation, and Unlocking the Future of AI through Education.

“A key highlight of the inaugural day was the unveiling of the Odisha Vision 2036 Immersive AI Zone; a 360-degree experience that offers visitors a compelling glimpse into an AI-enabled future, showcasing Odisha’s vision for transformation across healthcare, education, disaster management, governance, and citizen services—demonstrating how emerging technologies can improve lives at scale,” informed the state government.

The three core objectives of the Regional AI Impact Conference include positioning Odisha as a frontrunner state in leveraging AI for impact, building ecosystem engagement to catalyse implementation of AI use cases, and showcasing the State’s growing potential in AI research and innovation.

On the occasion, Principal Secretary, Electronics & IT department of Odisha, Vishal Dev also shared details regarding several key partnerships inked by the Odisha government with organisations like OpenAI (to support AI capacity building for students and government officials and support pilot AI use cases); Wadhwani AI (that will focus on oral reading fluency and nudges to Subhadra beneficiaries); Sarvam AI (for issue resolution in scheme delivery); and TCS (improve efficiency and productivity in e-File management system).

He also shared a glimpse of Sushasan Sah’AI’Yak, an AI-powered chatbot designed to help government officials improve productivity and efficiency.

The Odisha Electronics and Information Technology minister Dr Mukesh Mahaling, Joint Secretary, MeitY, Government of India, Sudeep Shrivastav, AI Governance Expert, Ministry of Communications and IT (MCIT), Egypt, Dr Ahmed Hefnawy, Chief Architect, NITI Frontier Tech Hub, Debjani Ghosh, and Chief Secretary of Odisha, Manoj Ahuja, among others attended the conference on Friday.

–IANS

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