Odisha Govt, Sarvam Discuss Sovereign AI Roadmap

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Government on Sunday held a high-level strategic meeting with the leadership of Sarvam, an Indian artificial intelligence company, as part of the State’s efforts to build a secure, inclusive, and sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem aligned with Vision 2036 and Vision 2047.

The discussions centred on positioning artificial intelligence as a long-term public capability, with a strong focus on sovereign infrastructure, population-scale applications across key sectors, and the creation of durable institutional capacity within the State.

The meeting was attended by Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, Minister for Electronics & IT, the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary (Electronics & IT), the Principal Secretary, Finance, senior State officials, and Sarvam’s leadership team.

During the deliberations, the State Government outlined its strategy for developing shared and sovereign AI infrastructure, including secure computing resources and state-governed data platforms. The objective is to ensure that public data, AI models, and intelligence systems remain within Odisha’s trust boundary. The proposed shared infrastructure is envisioned as a common resource for government departments, enabling scalability, security, and long-term sustainability while avoiding fragmented investments.

The Government also emphasised the deployment of population-scale, voice-enabled AI applications in sectors such as education, agriculture, healthcare, e-governance, and public safety. These applications are aimed at strengthening 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 timely implementation, both sides discussed a parallel one-year execution framework. Under this approach, departments would prepare datasets, identify priority use cases, and develop applications alongside the commissioning of core AI infrastructure, enabling rapid rollout of services.

The discussions further highlighted the importance of building durable institutional capacity through training of government officials, support for applied research, and development of local technical talent. This, officials noted, would ensure that AI systems can be effectively governed, sustained, and evolved by the State over the long term.

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

Sarvam is an Indian AI company focused on building foundational AI models and systems for public-sector and large-scale governance use cases, with particular emphasis on speech and language technologies tailored for Indian contexts.

Speaking after the meeting, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said Odisha should not merely adopt technology but lead in shaping it. “Artificial intelligence gives us an opportunity to set new benchmarks in governance and public service delivery,” he said.

The Chief Secretary stated that Odisha must emerge as a leader in artificial intelligence through the democratisation of AI, ensuring its benefits reach citizens across sectors and geographies.

The Minister for Electronics & IT underlined the potential of AI in high-impact domains such as agriculture and healthcare, noting that population-scale deployment could significantly improve livelihoods and well-being while reducing the burden on frontline workers.

Principal Secretary, Finance, said that if deployed thoughtfully, artificial intelligence could help democratise resources across the State, ensuring equitable access for departments, districts, and citizens. The Principal Secretary, Electronics & IT, reiterated the State’s commitment to secure, shared, and scalable AI infrastructure that avoids long-term dependency and fragmented deployment.

On behalf of Sarvam, Co-founder Pratyush Kumar said Odisha’s focus on sovereign AI and population-scale public impact reflected a strong understanding of how artificial intelligence can strengthen governance. He expressed confidence in translating the State’s vision into durable public systems.

The Odisha Government reaffirmed that its AI roadmap would remain inclusive and outcome-driven, with a strong emphasis on last-mile service delivery, transparency, and long-term state capacity, positioning Odisha as a national benchmark for responsible and citizen-centric use of artificial intelligence.