The Government of Odisha hosted the curtain raiser event for the Regional AI Impact Conference, scheduled for December 18-20, 2025, in Bhubaneswar.
Organised by the Electronics & IT Department, this landmark gathering aims to establish Odisha as a frontrunner in India’s AI ecosystem, focusing on responsible adoption across governance and public sectors.
The conference serves as an official precursor to the India AI Impact Summit 2026, set for February 2026 in New Delhi under the IndiaAI Mission led by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Ahead of the main event, an IndiaAI Working Group Meeting is planned for December 18 at the Mayfair Convention Centre. Jointly convened by MeitY and the Odisha government, it will unite stakeholders from central and state governments, academia, and industry to discuss operationalising the IndiaAI Mission. Key focus areas include data infrastructure, compute resources, skilling initiatives, and sectoral AI applications.
Odisha has made significant strides in integrating AI into public services. The recently approved Odisha Artificial Intelligence Policy 2025 provides a robust framework for ethical AI deployment, innovation, capacity building, and institutional transformation. The state is already rolling out AI solutions in critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance.
The Regional AI Impact Conference will highlight these real-world implementations while fostering national dialogue on AI in governance, research, data infrastructure, and inclusive growth. It will convene policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and experts from India and abroad to align on Odisha’s long-term AI priorities and forge strategic partnerships.
At the curtain raiser, Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, Minister for Electronics & IT, emphasised Odisha’s future-ready strategy: “With the Odisha AI Policy 2025 and supportive policies in FinTech, Global Capability Centres, and electronics, we are creating an investor-friendly ecosystem for population-scale AI adoption. Our emphasis is on infrastructure, innovation, strong governance, and policy certainty to enable enterprises to lead from Odisha.”
Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary, Electronics & IT, added: “This summit demonstrates tangible progress in AI integration across government functions and priority sectors. It will align stakeholders on a shared roadmap and drive scalable, sustainable collaborations, in close synergy with the national India AI Impact Summit 2026.”
The event is poised to culminate in key MoU signings, showcase sectoral advancements, and build momentum for sustained AI initiatives through multi-stakeholder alignment.
This conference underscores Odisha’s commitment to ethical innovation and technology-driven governance, signalling its pivotal role in shaping India’s AI future.
