From beaches to bots: Goa rolls out AI Mission 2027 to boost governance and innovation

The Pramod Sawant government has rolled out Goa AI Mission 2027, a visionary roadmap to build an inclusive and future-ready Artificial Intelligence ecosystem, officials said.

The mission, a bold leap from Goa's laid-back coastal charm to cutting-edge tech ambition, aims to empower people, enhance governance and spark innovation across sectors, placing the state firmly on the digital transformation map, they said.

In a recently held meeting, Chief Minister Sawant and state Information Technology Minister Rohan Khaunte appealed to stakeholders to work towards drafting the AI Mission 2027, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision.

Nearly 350 Information Technology companies and startups are operating in Goa, as per data from the IT department.

Goa Information and Technology Director Kabir Shirgaonkar told PTI Videos that the state government's AI mission is derived from the Centre's ambitious India AI Mission.

"We intend to meet various objectives through this mission, and one of them is create an inclusive and future-friendly AI ecosystem to empower citizens, enhance governance and support innovation across sectors," he said.

The government's predominant focus under the Goa AI Mission 2027 would be on setting up Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) to increase compute capacity, Shirgaonkar said.

"There's also the concept of an AI Coach. When talking about AI, datasets are very important. The Government of Goa will play an active role in preparing datasets, as you all know, the government possesses a vast amount of data, and these datasets will be critical when working with AI," he said.

Shirgaonkar said the ethical use of AI will also be a major focus area as the Goa government moves forward.

"Some of the major highlights of the Goa AI Mission include the formulation of a Goa AI Policy," he said, adding the AI Advisory Council has already been formulated.

"The AI Advisory Council, a multi-stakeholder body, aims to provide strategic direction and ensure consistent implementation across domains. So, the first step is the formation of the council, followed by drafting of the Goa AI Policy," he explained.

Shirgaonkar further said the focus will also include AI education, the setting up of Goa AI Labs, and the development of a Konkani Large Language Model (LLM).

"As you know, language models are essential, and developing a Konkani LLM will be one of our key priorities. We aim to use AI to preserve and promote Goa's cultural and linguistic heritage through this locally built LLM in Konkani," he said.

Specifically, the Goa AI Mission will rest on four core pillars -- skilling, startups and companies, capital, and government and infrastructure, the official said.

"Under the 'skilling' pillar, we will target colleges and schools to ensure that AI education is integrated at all levels so that our future generation is AI-ready," he said.

Amarsh Chaturvedi, co-founder of Neural Private Ltd in Panaji, said his is an AI first startup, working with enterprises to help scale their AI initiators with ease and comfort.

"We are also glad to be a part of the AI state mission in Goa, which is one of the pioneering initiatives in the country," he added.

Goa is one of the "very, very few states in the country" which is looking at AI and making the state ready for the future in technology, Chaturvedi said.

He said the Goa AI Mission 2027 also aims at bringing together academia, industry, startups and the government to fulfil multiple objectives.

"The first one being making the population of Goa AI ready, and this also entails skilling and reskilling people to work with AI, not just as users, but also creators," he said.

The mission also includes building the core infrastructure to carry out foundational research, not just physical infrastructure, but digital infrastructure that could entail collaboration of academia in Goa with universities elsewhere in the world, Chaturvedi said.

"So, from a holistic perspective, the intent is right and the steps that are being planned to undertake and fulfil the objectives of this mission are also in the right place," he added.

Milind Prabhu, CEO of Genora Infotech Pvt Ltd, Goa, said he was very happy to hear about the state government's initiative.

It is a great initiative as Goa is a preferred place for innovative work to be done and AI is the next tech innovation that is happening, he said.

"So, it's a great thing that we are focussing on it," Prabhu added.