PANAJI
The Goa government has announced notifying its Artificial Intelligence and Deep-Tech Policy within the next 100 days, outlining a plan to position the State as a centre for AI innovation while preparing local students and professionals for the technology-driven economy.
Replying to a private member’s resolution moved by Curtorim MLA Aleixo Lourenco on Friday, Information Technology Minister Rohan Khaunte told the Legislative Assembly that the government aims to ensure that every technical graduate in Goa becomes “AI-ready” by 2028 as part of a broader strategy to build local talent and encourage home-grown solutions.
“The world is moving from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 where machines work alongside human beings. Artificial Intelligence will support human decision-making, creativity and skills while keeping people at the centre,” he said, adding that the department is promoting the idea of “Artificial Intelligence with a human touch”.
Khaunte further said Goa already has a strong digital foundation to support the transition. The government’s GoaOnline portal currently provides around 280 services across 41 departments and has more than 9.1 lakh registered users, recording nearly 19.9 lakh transactions. The platform, he said, creates the base for introducing new digital tools, including an AI-powered chatbot recently rolled out to assist citizens.
Under the Goa AI Mission 2027, launched in 2025, the government is focusing on four pillars -- skilling, startups and companies, capital, and governance and infrastructure. As part of the education push, the state plans to introduce AI as a subject in schools and colleges, establish AI learning laboratories and train teachers. Study material will be prepared in Konkani, Marathi, Hindi and English to make the technology accessible to a wider group of students.
The government is also collaborating with institutions including the Indian Institute of Technology Goa, National Institute of Technology Goa, BITS Pilani’s Goa campus, Goa Engineering College and Goa Institute of Management, to strengthen research and training in artificial intelligence.
To encourage innovation, grants and structured support will be extended to AI startups, with provisions for women-led ventures.
Khaunte said the state is working with Bhashini, the language translation initiative under the Digital India programme, to develop a large language model for Konkani. The project is expected to help AI systems understand and communicate in the local language, allowing citizens to access digital government services more easily.
The department is also developing the AI Kosh initiative, which will enable government data to be used responsibly for research and innovation. Alongside this, an AI Readiness Index is being prepared to assess how prepared various departments are to adopt artificial intelligence.
Looking ahead, the state plans to establish an AI Centre of Excellence and expand the use of AI across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, tourism and public services. Programmes like the Chips-to-Startup (C2S) initiative and 5G Use Case Labs at BITS Pilani, Goa and NIT Goa are also aimed at building semiconductor design and next-generation technology capabilities among students.
