Three-day Regional AI Impact Conference in Bhubaneswar from tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government is all set to hold the Regional AI Impact Conference in Bhubaneswar from December 18 to 20. The government today held the curtain raiser of the conference in the capital city here.

The landmark event will position Odisha as one of India’s frontrunners in the adoption and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) across governance and key public sectors. Organised by the Electronics & IT Department of the state government, the conference will serve as an official precursor to the India AI Impact Summit 2026. 

The curtain raiser offered an early preview of Odisha’s AI vision, policy direction, and growing portfolio of real-world AI deployments. 

Ahead of the Regional AI Impact Conference, an IndiaAI Working Group meeting is scheduled to be held on December 18. The session will bring together key stakeholders from Union and state governments, academia, and industry to deliberate on operationalising the IndiaAI Mission, with a focus on data infrastructure, compute, skilling, and sectoral AI use cases.

Over the past few years, Odisha has taken decisive steps to embed artificial intelligence into governance and service delivery. The approval of the Odisha AI Policy 2025 marked a significant milestone in the state’s technology journey, laying out a progressive and responsible framework to harness AI for public good, capacity building, innovation, and long-term institutional transformation.

The Regional AI Impact Conference aims to showcase how the state has already begun implementing AI solutions across healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance, while also creating a national platform to shape conversations around AI in governance, research, data infrastructure, and inclusive growth.

The conference will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, researchers, and technology experts from across India and beyond to align on Odisha’s long-term AI priorities and partnerships.

The conference is the precursor to the India AI Impact Summit-2026

Speaking at the curtain raiser, Mukesh Mahaling, Minister for Electronics & IT said, “Odisha is taking a future-ready approach to technology-led growth. With the Odisha AI Policy 2025, alongside progressive policies for FinTech, Global Capability Centres, and advanced electronics, we are building a clear, responsible, and investor-friendly framework for population-scale AI adoption. Our focus is not just on infrastructure, but on creating a complete innovation ecosystem that is backed by strong governance, world-class digital capabilities, and long-term policy certainty. Our key focus is on building an ecosystem that enables enterprises to build, scale, and lead from Odisha.”

Vishal Dev, Principal Secretary, Electronics & IT said, “The Odisha AI Summit is designed as a platform to demonstrate real progress, not just promise. Odisha has already begun integrating AI into core government functions and priority sectors, while simultaneously investing in capacity building and institutional readiness. The AI Summit will help align departments, partners, and innovators around a shared AI roadmap and catalyse collaborations that can scale responsibly and sustainably. The Regional AI Impact Conference is closely aligned with the upcoming India AI Impact Summit that will be held in Delhi in Feb 2026, and is in fact, an official precursor event, demonstrating Odisha’s close alignment with India’s AI Mission.”

The summit is expected to result in the signing of key MoUs, formalising partnerships that will support Odisha’s AI journey; showcase the State’s progress across priority areas; and build momentum for long-term AI initiatives by fostering alignment among government departments, industry, academia, and research institutions.

The Regional AI Impact Conference will mark an important moment in signalling the state’s ambition to play a leading role in India’s emerging AI ecosystem, focused on real deployments, ethical innovation, and technology-led governance.