PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Information Technology Minister Rohan Khaunte on Thursday launched the Goa AI Policy 2026, setting a target of training and certifying 50,000 Goans in artificial intelligence by 2030. The policy aims to expand employment opportunities, promote AI-driven startups and integrate the technology into governance, tourism and education.
Unveiled at Goa’s first AI Tech Conclave 2026, the policy outlines a roadmap to position the state as a hub for ethical, responsible and inclusive AI, while creating opportunities for local talent. Describing the policy as “vision turning into action”, Sawant congratulated Khaunte and the IT Department, noting that the initiative aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for AI development and the broader goal of Viksit Bharat 2047.
Sawant said the government would work towards making AI education accessible to students across Goa, including those who have completed Class 12. He suggested that colleges and higher secondary schools could be developed into AI hubs using existing infrastructure and the expertise of professionals. “As Minister Rohan Khaunte mentioned to me earlier, even if we initiate a trial project in Porvorim, we can scale this model to the taluka level,” Sawant said.
He added that the IT Department would work with the Education Department to ensure the initiative reached students effectively. Sawant also congratulated those involved in skilling, capacity building, startups and industry-academia collaboration. An MoU was signed between the IT Department and BITS Pilani as part of the initiative.
Khaunte said the policy marked an important milestone in Goa’s efforts to build a technology ecosystem that creates opportunities for local youth. Recalling the launch of Goa’s Startup and IT Policy in 2017, during his previous tenure as IT Minister under former chief minister Manohar Parrikar, he said the initiative had sought to address the perception that IT opportunities did not exist in the state. “The thought back then was addressing the feeling among youth that IT opportunities didn't exist in Goa,” Khaunte said, explaining that the government had aimed to create local employment and reverse brain drain by encouraging Goans working elsewhere to return home.
He said collaboration between government departments, academia and industry had helped lay the groundwork for the AI conclave and the new policy. The Goa AI Policy 2026, covering the 2026-2029 period, focuses on five pillars: skilling and capacity building, startups and industry, capital and investments, policy and infrastructure, and responsible and ethical AI. It also emphasises privacy, transparency, fairness, human oversight and accountability in the development and deployment of AI systems.
Khaunte said Goa wanted to move beyond Industry 4.0 towards Industry 5.0, where artificial intelligence and automation converge with human creativity and sustainable development. Among the key proposals is a dedicated Konkani large language model in partnership with Bhashini, aimed at making digital services more accessible to citizens in their own language. The government also plans to develop a sovereign AI-driven tourism platform under a public-private partnership framework, focusing on Goa’s heritage, culture and identity.
The policy envisages establishing the Goa Techno Hub at Porvorim as an ecosystem for IT professionals, entrepreneurs and students. It also proposes an AI Centre of Excellence for Indic Knowledge Systems to document and preserve Goa’s history, manuscripts, religious sites and cultural traditions through AI-powered tools.
Emphasising access to training, Khaunte said AI skilling programmes would welcome learners from different educational backgrounds, including graduates and Class 12 pass-outs. The government intends to work with educational institutions and industry experts to expand training opportunities and equip young people with skills relevant to emerging jobs. Sawant also pointed to digital platforms such as Bhashini and Bhashadaan, saying they would benefit young talent as the government pursues AI initiatives across the public and private sectors.
Khaunte stressed that technological progress must be guided by human judgment and responsibility. Drawing an analogy with a traditional Goan kitchen, he compared the wisdom passed down by a grandmother preparing fish curry with the knowledge acquired by artificial intelligence systems. “The future is not a choice between a grandmother’s wisdom and machine intelligence. It is about bringing both together,” he said, underlining the importance of balancing innovation with human values and cultural identity. He cautioned that AI tools, including ChatGPT and Gemini, could provide information but that users must retain the ability to question and evaluate their outputs.
Concluding his address, Khaunte said, “We must give AI the open sky, but keep the command in our own hands.” He said Goa’s AI ambitions must serve the goals of Viksit Bharat 2047 and Viksit Goa 2037, while creating opportunities for local youth and ensuring that technological development remains accountable to people.
