In a significant push to build artificial intelligence (AI) capacity, the central government has agreed in principle to fund a ₹12-crore project for developing state-specific AI datasets in Assam. The project, proposed by the Assam government, will focus on creating structured and unstructured datasets relevant to the state’s linguistic, cultural, demographic, and administrative landscape. It will also involve digitization, annotation, and refinement of public data from various government departments.
The data will comply with AI-cell standards for ethical use, interoperability, and legal sourcing.
The announcement came in the wake of a meeting between Assam Information Technology Minister Keshab Mahanta and top officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in New Delhi on Wednesday.
“This project will help us build a robust AI base in Assamese and other local languages, enhancing both governance and innovation,” Mahanta said after meeting with MeitY Additional Secretary and CEO of India-AI, Abhishek Singh.
The initiative is part of the broader India-AI Mission and will be jointly funded by the Centre and the state government. The minister said the AI datasets would support a wide range of applications, including governance, education, and digital services, while preserving Assam’s linguistic and cultural diversity.
Alongside the dataset project, MeitY also approved the establishment of AI Data Labs in five technical institutions across Assam in the first phase of the India-AI Mission. This decision follows Mahanta’s request to expand the mission’s scope in the state, which previously included only one institute.
