IndiaAI Mission Convenes Conclave on Democratising AI Resources Working Group Meeting in Bhubaneswar at the Regional AI Impact Conference, Odisha
Bhubaneswar, 18 December 2025: The IndiaAI Mission, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Government of Odisha, today hosted the Conclave on Democratising AI Resources Working Group Meeting at the Mayfair Convention Centre.
Co-chaired by Egypt, the session focused on “Democratizing AI Resources” and marked the commencement of the Regional AI Impact Conference, Odisha.
The Conference is taking place from 18-20 December, 2025 in Bhubaneswar. The Working Group Meeting convened senior policymakers, industry experts, and academics to develop strategies for data infrastructure, compute access, skilling, and sectoral AI deployment under the IndiaAI Mission.
The India AI Impact Summit Working Groups form a critical component of the IndiaAI Mission, comprising seven specialised thematic forums that bring together stakeholders from government, industry, academia, and civil society to develop actionable roadmaps for AI adoption across the nation.
These groups focus on Human Capital, Inclusion for Social Empowerment, Safe and Trusted AI, Resilience, Innovation, Efficiency, Science, and AI for Economic Development & Social Good.
Today’s session in Bhubaneswar, centred on democratising AI resources, exemplifies this mandate by fostering consensus on equitable access to foundational AI enablers.
The inaugural ceremony featured welcome remarks by Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary, EIT Department, Government of Odisha, followed by keynote addresses from Shri Sudeep Shrivastava, Joint Secretary, MeitY; Mr. Ahmed Hefnawy, AI Governance Expert, Egypt; Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar; Shri Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, Government of India; Shri Manoj Ahuja, Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha; and a special speech by Dr. Mukesh Mahaling, Hon’ble Minister for IT, Government of Odisha, with vote of thanks by Shri Manas Panda, Special Secretary, Government of Odisha.
Shri Vishal Kumar Dev, Principal Secretary, E&IT Department, Government of Odisha, welcomed participants to the Working Group Meeting in Bhubaneswar, noting Odisha’s selection as one of eight states to host regional India AI impact summits.
Shri Sudeep Shrivastava, Joint Secretary, MeitY, emphasised that the working group theme lies at the heart of the India AI Impact Summit 2026 and India’s ethos of democracy, with this being the fourth meeting to finalise the charter on democratizing AI resources.
Mr Ahmed Hefnawy, AI Governance Expert, Egypt, praised India’s efforts in convening the right voices for the working group and summit, affirming Egypt’s commitment to support as co-chair for equitable AI access, representing the global south.
Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar, defined democratizing AI as enabling average intelligence users to access authentic information reliably, urging India to lead globally with diverse data from its languages and geographies
Shri Saurabh Garg, Secretary, MoSPI, Government of India, described the Odisha Working Group as a key run-up to the India AI Impact Summit in February, co-chaired by Egypt and Kenya, with over 50 countries participating to finalise the charter on democratizing AI resources.
Shri Manoj Ahuja, Chief Secretary, Government of Odisha, stressed that AI inherently democratizes intelligence by empowering citizens through accessible public goods like compute and data, aligning with India’s public digital infrastructure approach.
Dr Mukesh Mahaling, Hon’ble Minister of E&IT, Government of Odisha, highlighted Odisha hosting the regional AI impact conference on democratizing AI resources as one of the seven chakras under India’s AI mission for people-centric governance.
Shri Manas Panda, Special Secretary, Government of Odisha, thanked dignitaries for the India AI hybrid working group meeting, noting its role in advancing equitable AI under the IndiaAI Mission and Viksit Bharat vision.
This was succeeded by a public panel discussion on democratizing AI resources, moderated by Shri Praveen Mokkapati, Director, Nasscom, before transitioning into a closed-door Working Group Meeting : Democratizing AI Resources deliberations and a concluding dinner with memento exchange for international dignitaries.
The Working Group Meeting today also sets the stage for the India AI Impact Summit 2026, to be held in New Delhi from February 15-20, 2026, reinforcing the Government of India’s commitment to scalable, ethical AI deployment for national progress under Viksit Bharat 2047.
