Maharashtra aims to lead AI adoption with governance, startup push: CM Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra is positioning itself to lead India’s artificial intelligence revolution through a combination of policy support, startup ecosystem development and rapid deployment of AI across government services, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said at the Mumbai Tech Week 2026 on Friday.

“We have created a robust policy under which we are looking at attracting ₹10,000 crore of investment in AI and creating around 1.5 lakh jobs. We want to establish six Centres of Excellence around AI and create AI Innovation Regions across the state,” Fadnavis said. To support AI innovation, the state is creating a Compute-as-a-Service facility that will provide access to 2,000 GPUs for startups, innovators and researchers.

AI moves from policy to governance

Highlighting the state’s use of AI in governance, Fadnavis said Maharashtra has begun deploying the technology across agriculture, policing, healthcare, urban administration and disaster management. He cited MahaVISTAAR-AI, an AI-powered platform developed by the Agriculture Department that provides farmers with crop advice, weather information and access to government schemes.

Another initiative is MahaCrimeOS AI, built with the help of Microsoft, digitises criminal investigations and helps police analyse evidence, prepare documents and improve case management. “Traditionally, preparing a chargesheet could take months. Now, much of that work can happen simultaneously during the investigation process, significantly reducing timelines,” he said.

The state is also using AI-powered systems for building plan approvals, government HR management, healthcare fraud detection, traffic management and disaster prediction. “You name the sector, and the government has started using AI,” Fadnavis said.

On responsible deployment, he said Maharashtra’s AI policy is built on equitable access, trust and human-centricity. “People should know that there is always human oversight in the use of AI. We have seen algorithms fail. Artificial intelligence is powerful, but human intelligence remains essential,” he said.

Calling this “the best time” for entrepreneurs and innovators, Fadnavis urged AI startups to build in Maharashtra.  “We are not just providing incubators and accelerators. We have also created funds-of-funds and investment support mechanisms,” he said. He added that Maharashtra has emerged as India’s startup capital for three consecutive years in terms of both the number of startups and investment activity.

Infrastructure pipeline expands

Alongside the technology push, Fadnavis outlined a series of upcoming infrastructure projects aimed at improving connectivity across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Among the planned projects are the North Coastal Road connecting Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar to the wider MMR region, a proposed 30-km sea bridge, new twin tunnels linking key parts of Mumbai with BKC and airport corridors, and expanded connectivity around the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link and the Navi Mumbai International Airport. The state is also continuing work to expand Mumbai’s metro network to nearly 400 km. “If you look at roads, bridges, tunnels, metro rail and airports together, what we are creating is a seamless mobility network for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region,” Fadnavis said.