Artificial Intelligence is set to fundamentally strengthen India’s governance architecture over the next five years. From predictive planning and real-time programme monitoring to interoperable data ecosystems and responsible innovation, AI can serve as a force multiplier for evidence- based policymaking. In this conversation, Ramandeep Chowdhary, Secretary, Planning, Government of Karnataka, outlines to Muskan Jaiswal of Elets News Network how Karnataka is leveraging integrated data platforms, regulatory sandboxes, and institutional reforms to build a human-centric, accountable, and scalable AI-driven governance framework. Edited excerpts:
From the perspective of planning and programme monitoring, how do you see AI reshaping evidence- based policymaking and governance in India over the next 5 years?
In the coming years, AI has the potential to complement and enrich the human element of policymaking. It can help us navigate the vast volume of data the state has at its disposal and extract the maximum amount of insight from that data. This can help us in two ways. AI can help us in analysing data to evaluate the efficacy of past and ongoing programs while simultaneously helping us plan for the future by anticipating demand for critical public services. By providing broad patterns and trends through the triangulation of data from multiple sources, AI can also help us channel our efforts towards regions and areas of governance that most need our intervention so that we direct our attention there to identify ground-level problems and fix any critical gaps through better resource allocation, special scheme design, strengthened monitoring, etc.
In your view, what role should AI play in integrating diverse datasets across departments to enable a unified, data-driven governance framework?
The most immediate role for AI is to address the siloisation that exists within government. Currently, each department in the government maintains a plethora of data systems. It may be quite common for a department’s staff to be unaware of the full range of data available even within their own sections and departments. AI can help staff identify relevant data systems across the government that could potentially enrich their department’s service delivery efforts. By offering an overview of the information sitting in different departments, it may give us a clearer sense of where to secure vital information.
We are closely following the recent efforts by MoSPI to open its various datasets to AI-driven queries via the eSankhyiki portal. This allows officers, and even the larger public, without specialised technical skills, to pull analytical insights from complex data. If we enable similar functionalities for different central and state portals, staff could extract aggregated information from other portals they may not otherwise be familiar with.
Lastly, AI may help absorb the schema and characteristics of data across different portals to find efficient ways to match and merge their data. It can also be of great help in cleaning and processing the noise and inconsistencies, such as spelling mistakes in district or taluk names, that often pervade government data systems and currently limit their use for decision-making.
Could you share one flagship AI or data-driven initiative from Karnataka that demonstrates measurable impact in planning, monitoring, or policy evaluation?
I would like to focus on two of Karnataka’s initiatives: FRUITS and Kutumba. These platforms are interconnected with multiple data portals across the state and serve as our primary data-driven infrastructure. These systems have integrated data from various departments and now use this integrated data routinely to estimate beneficiary counts, determine budget outlays, and calculate the exact benefits an individual is entitled to based on specific scheme criteria. This information is used to facilitate Direct Benefit Transfers and allows us to track whether every beneficiary is receiving their benefits. The interoperable architecture of these platforms also allows us to identify inclusion and exclusion errors in different programmes and schemes and act on minimising them. These platforms provide a strong yet flexible foundation for any department to leverage for their specific planning, monitoring, or service delivery needs.
How important is data quality, interoperability, and standardisation in making AI truly effective for public policy and governance?
These are the foundations of our AI strategy. It is vital to recognise that AI insights and outputs can only be as good as the underlying data. Even AI cannot correct for all the inaccuracies that may exist in our records. Therefore, our priority must be to improve the quality of the data reported and maintained by the government. Even in this foundational stage, AI and modern technology have a role to play by helping us collect more accurate data at the source itself.
Beyond just more intelligent data entry systems, we can explore how measurement itself can be AI-driven to reduce manual errors. Across different sectors, there are several use cases, with some of them already being tested. For example, Kalika Deepa, an AI-based tool, is being tested in Karnataka to help students enhance their foundational learning and numeracy skills. Similarly, there is potential for AI-based tools to undertake growth monitoring of children for accurate identification and timely treatment of malnutrition, detection of high-risk pregnancies and diagnosis of diseases for timely intervention, etc. The government can facilitate testing of such interventions to assess whether they are substantial upgrades to the status quo. Once data quality improves, interoperability and standardisation across portals shall then provide efficiency gains, making the insights that AI generates much more accurate and reliable for planning and decision- making.
However, I must emphasise here that each of these initiatives must first be rigorously piloted. Only through clear evidence and evaluation should they be considered for scaling up, ensuring that we maintain proper checks and balances in our adoption of technology.
How can Karnataka further strengthen its position as a leader in AI-driven governance and innovation, while ensuring inclusivity and scale?
In Karnataka, we have acknowledged that AI can be highly beneficial when leveraged appropriately for the public good and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of governance. To this end, we are focused on providing a structured environment that encourages responsible innovation while maintaining accountability.
One of our key priorities is to provide a regulatory cover for AI-based innovations through our Regulatory Sandbox initiative.
We are currently making necessary amendments to the Karnataka Innovation Authority (KIA) Act, which will help in accelerating innovations, including in AI. This will allow for the controlled testing of new technologies in a real-world setting, ensuring that long-term governance mechanisms can evolve alongside these innovations. Additionally, the government is encouraging a robust R&D environment for AI for social impact. We have approved the establishment of the Centre for Applied AI for Tech Solutions (CATS) in Bengaluru.[3] To be built in association with MeitY and NASSCOM, this Centre of Excellence seeks to serve as a launchpad for deep-tech initiatives, helping move research into practical, market-ready solutions. Through these institutional efforts, we are providing the necessary impetus for an AI ecosystem that is aligned with our developmental goals.
Are there any additional ideas or recommendations you would like to share for nurturing a robust AI ecosystem in Karnataka and across India?
I believe we should try to foster a healthy Human-AI partnership. AI should be seen as an assistant to the judgment of a public servant, not as a replacement for it. We should also encourage the spirit of agile governance by creating safe spaces to test AI-driven interventions incrementally. By maintaining this positive yet grounded outlook, we can build an AI-driven governance ecosystem that is both technologically capable and deeply committed to the public good.
Also Read | From Digital Infrastructure to Intelligent Administration: Karnataka’s AI Blueprint
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