Strategy document to transform Telangana into an AI-powered State unveiled 

Telangana launches AI strategy to transform state, focusing on AI-driven services, data annotation hubs, and AI City development.

A strategy document and roadmap to transform Telangana into an AI-powered State was launched by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy at the inaugural session of the two-day global Artificial Summit here on Thursday.

Primarily, the State will be pursuing a six-point agenda, including setting for itself a goal of delivering AI-driven services to more than one crore people in sectors such as agriculture, health, education and mobility by 2027, IT and Industries Secretary Jayesh Ranjan said on the strategy.

In all government offices, AI nodal officers are proposed to be appointed as a facilitation measure to ensure that the deliverables are achieved, the senior official said, pointing to how this is one concept that has proved challenging for the Central government. The State government also intends to promote the development of datasets and models that allow AI to account for State-specific nuances, including language and culture, since solutions developed using these assets will be more efficient, accurate, and cost-effective, especially when deployed at a population scale.

Apart from improving dataset quality, data annotation hubs are to be established to cater to the annotation needs of not just the State but the country at large. The government will also launch Telangana Data Exchange Platform (TGDex) thus enabling access to quality data for innovators in the ecosystem and fuelling AI-powered innovation through a collaborative approach, the document showed. The State government will facilitate access to compute capacity through hyperscalers.

The government departments and selected early-stage start-ups are to be provided subsidised access to compute capacity to level the playing field for innovation, specifically for socially conscious solutions.

All demographic groups in the State will be empowered with AI and Generative AI powered solutions to improve their quality of living. To cater to the growing demand for AI professionals in the job market, the State will train five lakh professionals in AI specialisations by 2027 through a mix of formal education and digital initiatives. AI curriculum will be introduced in senior secondary public schools to democratise access to AI skills and careers from an early age, according to the document.

A key component of the strategy will be proposed AI City, a future ready facility proposed near Hyderabad to play host to multinational corporations, research institutions and start-ups.