AI Impact Summit: States of India showcase their AI strengths

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 955 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

In Part I and Part II of our photo essay series from the India AI Impact Expo, we featured Indian startups, the international pavilions of France, UK, Russia, Australia, Japan, and Africa, and a range of global products for AI.

The India AI Impact Summit wraps up this week in New Delhi at Bharat Mandapam. See YourStory’s coverage of insights from the Summit delivered by Google CEO Sundar Pichai, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, and Reliance Industries’ Chairman Mukesh Ambani.

In this photo essay, we feature the pavilions by the states of Karnataka, Odisha, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, and Delhi-NCR. We also showcase some of the startups and government programmes from these states.

Karnataka’s policies and ecosystem have helped place Bengaluru among the top AI and startup cities globally. With a thriving ecosystem of global tech giants, homegrown AI startups, and a robust talent base, Karnataka continues to cement its position as India’s preeminent hub for AI (read more about its DeepTech Decade initiative here).

The Karnataka government’s 2025–26 budget has made AI a strategic focus. The Startup Policy 2025–2030 targets the large-scale creation of deeptech startups in Bengaluru and other cities of Karnataka.

Programmes such as Elevate and Beyond Bengaluru support and encourage innovation hubs across the state. Karnataka also actively participates in Global Innovation Alliances, reinforcing international partnerships.  

Odisha has approved a comprehensive AI policy to position the state as a leader in applying AI for governance, socio-economic transformation, and inclusive innovation. Its four pillars include AI infrastructure, skills development, energy sustainability, and regulatory frameworks.

The Odisha AI Mission coordinates projects, supports startups, accelerates use cases, and implements AI across public agencies, academia and industry. There are plans to introduce foundational AI curricula in schools that include AI ethics and data literacy.

Punjab’s Startup Policy 2025 offers seed grants, rental and interest subsidies, and special support for deeptech and women-led ventures. It has launched AI-powered career guidance labs in public schools as an innovative step to help students better plan future careers.

There are initiatives to boost agriculture with AI, via partnerships with Indian Institute of Technology Ropar. PAIS 2.0 (Punjab Artificial Intelligence System) offers voice analysis and large voice databases to support intelligence and public safety operations.

Andhra Pradesh’s Innovation and Startup Policy (2024–29) has a target of creating 20,000 startups, with a strong focus on deeptech. This policy includes support for CoEs in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Tirupati, and Kurnool. The AP Innovation Society also nurtures innovation on a large scale.

Google is establishing a major AI and data centre project near Visakhapatnam, while a partnership with NVIDIA focuses on establishing an AI University in Amaravati. The state also promotes a vision of ‘one AI-enabled member per family’.

Kerala’s IT Vision 2031 outlines ambitious goals to grow the state’s IT economy and nurture 20,000 startups. The Kerala Artificial Intelligence Mission (K-AIM) is a core pillar fostering ethical and transparent AI adoption across sectors.

The state plans an AI Innovation Hub in Kozhikode, with a flagship AI campus. The Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) programme includes personalised AI tutoring for students, and a slew of AI initiatives have been launched by institutions like IIITM-K, NIT Calicut, IIT Palakkad, and Amrita School of Engineering.

Uttar Pradesh has launched an AI mission to build AI skills, innovation hubs, and labs across the state. The AI Pragya programme aims to train youth, teachers, farmers, and officials in AI, ML and cybersecurity.

Plans are underway for AI-driven traffic management systems a number of cities. Other initiatives include satellite imaging and AI analytics for land records and illegal mining monitoring, and the development of Lucknow as an ‘AI City’.

Assam is planning an AI-First strategy as part of its digital transformation agenda, integrating AI tools to improve governance, transparency, and citizen services. It is positioning itself as an AI hub for Northeast India, while the Assam Innovation and Startup Foundation cultivates entrepreneurship.

Bihar has new policies targeting AI, semiconductor manufacturing, and global capability centres (GCCs). An AI centre of excellence is slated for IIT Patna, and the Startup Bihar Programme has scaled up the number of recognised DPIIT startups.

Initiatives like the Bihar Idea Festival and Ideas Yatra have crowd-sourced a range of startup ideas from students, rural youth, and aspiring founders. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University is incubating startups and providing mentorship and outreach support.

The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi has a startup policy to support 5,000 startups by 2035. Initiatives like Campus-to-Market (Delhi Startup Yuva Festival) provide early-stage support, mentorship, and seed grants.

Delhi’s Safe City Project incorporates AI surveillance and analytics to enhance urban security. The union territory is home to a vibrant startup ecosystem with over 7,000 registered startups across sectors, and benefits from proximity to top educational institutions and international tech events.

Across many cities of India, chapters of entrepreneurship development organisations like TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) have supported deeptech startups with mentorship, industry alliances, and investor connects. For example, see YourStory's coverage of activities by TiE Bangalore and TiE Delhi-NCR.

Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?

(All photographs taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at India AI Impact Summit.)