THEBUSINESSBYTES BUREAU

BHUBANESWAR, JANUARY 24, 2026

In a significant step towards building a secure, inclusive and future-ready digital ecosystem, the Odisha Government on Saturday held a high-level strategic meeting with the leadership of Sarvam, an Indian artificial intelligence company, to explore a potential partnership aimed at establishing sovereign and population-scale AI capabilities in the State. The initiative aligns closely with Odisha’s long-term Vision 2036 and Vision 2047.

The deliberations centred on positioning artificial intelligence as a core public capability rather than a short-term technological intervention. Discussions highlighted the need for sovereign AI infrastructure, large-scale applications across critical sectors, and the creation of durable institutional capacity that can be governed and sustained by the State over time.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the Minister for Electronics & IT, the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary (Electronics & IT), the Principal Secretary, Finance, senior State officials, and Sarvam’s leadership team. Together, they examined pathways to develop shared, state-governed AI infrastructure, including secure compute and data platforms, ensuring that public data, AI models and intelligence systems remain firmly within Odisha’s trust boundary.

The proposed shared AI infrastructure is envisioned as a common resource for government departments, designed to enable scale, enhance security and ensure long-term sustainability while avoiding fragmented investments. The Government underlined that such an approach would allow departments to innovate rapidly without duplicating costs or compromising data sovereignty.

A key focus of the discussions was the deployment of population-scale, voice-enabled AI applications across sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, e-governance and public safety. These applications are expected to strengthen last-mile delivery of government schemes by allowing citizens — especially those in rural, tribal and low-literacy areas — to access information on entitlements, benefits and grievance redressal through simple conversational interfaces.

To ensure swift execution, both sides discussed a parallel one-year implementation framework. Under this approach, departments would prepare datasets, identify priority use cases and develop applications alongside the commissioning of core AI infrastructure, ensuring services are rollout-ready without delays.

The meeting also underscored the importance of building long-term institutional capacity within the State. Plans include training government officials, supporting applied research and nurturing local technical talent to ensure AI systems can be effectively governed, sustained and evolved by Odisha itself.

The State indicated that it plans to formalise the collaboration through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during the Black Swan Summit scheduled for February 5 and 6, 2026.

Sarvam, which focuses on building foundational AI models and systems for public-sector and large-scale governance use cases, particularly in speech and language technologies, was identified as a potential indigenous partner aligned with Odisha’s vision of sovereign AI development.

Speaking after the meeting, the Chief Minister said “Odisha must follow a model where we do not merely adopt technology, but become a harbinger of technology for others to follow. Artificial intelligence gives us an opportunity to set new benchmarks in governance and public service delivery.”

The Chief Secretary said “It is high time that Odisha emerges as a leader in technology, especially in artificial intelligence, through the true democratisation of AI — ensuring its benefits reach citizens across sectors and geographies.”

Reiterating the transformative potential of AI, the Minister for Electronics & IT highlighted its role in high-impact sectors such as agriculture and healthcare, noting that population-scale deployment could significantly improve livelihoods and well-being while easing the burden on frontline workers.

The Principal Secretary, Finance, said “Artificial intelligence is all-pervasive in nature. If deployed thoughtfully, it can truly help in democratising AI resources across the State, ensuring equitable access for departments, districts, and citizens alike.”

The Principal Secretary, Electronics & IT, reaffirmed Odisha’s commitment to building secure, shared and scalable AI infrastructure that avoids long-term dependency and fragmented deployment models.

Speaking on behalf of Sarvam, Co-founder Pratyush Kumar said “Odisha’s focus on sovereign AI and population-scale public impact reflects a clear understanding of how artificial intelligence can strengthen governance. We look forward to working closely with the State to translate this vision into durable public systems.”

The Government of Odisha reiterated that its AI roadmap will remain inclusive, outcome-driven and firmly focused on last-mile service delivery, transparency and long-term capacity building, positioning the State as a national benchmark for citizen-centric and responsible use of artificial intelligence.