Gandhinagar

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday said the state is positioned to become India’s primary digital gateway as it accelerates growth in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), fintech, startup innovation and global capability centres.

Speaking at the Regional AI Impact Summit 2025 held at Mahatma Mandir, Patel said Gujarat’s expanding global connectivity will make it a major hub for international data movement and strengthen the country’s digital self-reliance. He added that the state expects increased foreign investment in cloud technologies, hyperscale systems, data centres and digital infrastructure.

Patel said the state government is working in line with the Centre’s national AI vision and preparing for large-scale adoption of AI solutions across governance. “AI in governance will become widespread in the coming years. To support this, we have formed an AI Task Force and are creating the Gujarat Unified Digital Stack for all departments,” he said.

The stack, he noted, will allow citizens to access government services through a single digital interface. According to him, initiatives unveiled at the summit will help place AI at the heart of the ‘Viksit Gujarat 2047’ roadmap and contribute significantly to the broader vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’.

The regional summit was jointly organised by the Gujarat Department of Science and Technology and the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as part of the lead-up to the global AI Impact Summit scheduled to be held in India in February 2026.

During the event, the Chief Minister launched the Gujarat AI Stack aimed at improving governance efficiency and citizen-focused service delivery. He also released the Gujarat Cloud Adoption Guidelines 2025, which are expected to facilitate the use of MeitY-recognised cloud platforms and national GPU compute resources.

The state government also entered into two MoUs—one with Google and BHASHINI to advance multilingual AI tools and develop Gujarati language models, and another with GIFT City and Henox to establish a cable landing station. Officials said this will boost global digital connectivity and support sustainable, energy-efficient data centres in Gujarat.

Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi, addressing the gathering, said the state is determined to be at the forefront of the AI era. “Our vision is not humans competing with machines, but humans working with machines. In Gujarat, we aren’t just witnessing the AI revolution—we are helping shape it,” he said. Sanghavi also invited AI startups and investors to base their operations in the state, calling Gujarat “a launchpad for the future”.

He highlighted ongoing AI applications in Gujarat, including crowd-control systems during major religious gatherings, technology-enabled wildlife monitoring and improved efficiency in the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation.

MeitY Additional Secretary Abhishek Singh, interacting with the media, said that the February 2026 summit will bring together leading global experts, CEOs, scientists and industry leaders for discussions on expanding beneficial uses of AI and managing its risks.

Singh said the prime minister has emphasised the need to showcase state-level technological achievements to the global community, particularly highlighting Gujarat’s contributions in AI, startups and semiconductor development.

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“AI will be central to India’s journey towards becoming a developed nation, and we aim to present India’s progress—especially Gujarat’s—to the world during the summit,” he added