J&K eyes AI to transform governance, citizen services

Jammu, Mar 9: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Monday held detailed deliberations with stakeholders on the adoption and expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in governance and delivery of public services across Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting besides the concerned Administrative Secretaries was attended by the Director, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, CEO, India AI Mission; Special Director General, Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N), and other concerned officers of the Union Territory.
The meeting held detailed discussions on the potential of AI-based interventions in a range of citizen-centric governance sectors and explored ways to establish a robust institutional and technological framework for accelerating such initiatives in the UT. Participants deliberated on how advanced technologies could improve administrative efficiency, decision-making and accessibility of government services for citizens.
Speaking during the meeting, the Chief Secretary emphasized that Artificial Intelligence offers enormous potential to transform governance and enhance the quality and reach of public services across Jammu and Kashmir. He urged all departments to proactively identify areas where AI-driven solutions could improve efficiency, transparency and outcomes in their respective sectors.
He stressed the importance of strong coordination between the UT administration, the Union Ministry concerned, IIT Jammu, BISAG-N and other technical institutions to ensure timely and effective implementation of all these AI-enabled initiatives.
To provide strategic direction and oversight, the Chief Secretary proposed the constitution of a high-level Steering Committee to be chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary, Public Works Department. The committee would include representatives from IIT Jammu, BISAG-N with Secretary Information Technology and Inspector General of Police Jammu being the members of this committee and would guide the implementation of AI projects while addressing operational bottlenecks.
The Chief Secretary also directed the Information Technology Department to establish a dedicated anchoring mechanism within the department to coordinate AI-related initiatives with different departments. He stressed the need for identifying and deploying specialized human resources to support this institutional framework and ensure effective on-ground implementation.
Highlighting the importance of capacity building, he underscored the need for earlier establishment of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Emerging Technologies in Jammu and Kashmir and setting up Data Innovation Labs in skill development institutions. He maintained that such facilities would play a key role in preparing the region for future technological challenges and creating a skilled workforce in data science and AI-related domains.
The Chief Secretary further called upon the School Education Department to explore the possibility of introducing basic introductory courses on Artificial Intelligence at the secondary school level. He also suggested that AI-related skill programmes could be incorporated under Mission YUVA to enable youth to acquire emerging technology skills and improve their employment prospects.
During the meeting, Administrative Secretaries from various departments shared their perspectives on the use of AI-enabled tools to improve efficiency, data analysis, service delivery and decision-making within their sectors.
CEO of the IndiaAI Mission, Abhishek Singh, suggested the creation of a core AI team within the Union Territory to guide the mission’s implementation locally. He noted that the national mission has been mandated to catalyse AI-driven initiatives across the country and assured full support to Jammu and Kashmir for its AI-related programmes.
He further recommended that the Union Territory may initially identify five priority sectors for pilot-based AI implementation. Once these projects demonstrate success, additional initiatives could be gradually scaled up based on the expertise developed. He also emphasized the importance of establishing the proposed Centre of Excellence and Data Labs to develop a strong pool of local talent capable of driving AI innovation in the region.
Director, Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, Prof Manoj Gaur, described the proposed initiatives as timely and significant. He stated that the institute possesses strong research capabilities in the area of disaster mitigation, risk reduction which could be leveraged to support AI-driven governance solutions in Jammu and Kashmir. He also highlighted the institute’s work on developing data pipelines in local languages, which could further strengthen AI applications in the region.
Special Director General, BISAG-N, Vinay Thakur, assured full support from the organisation in rolling out AI-based solutions for governance in Jammu and Kashmir. He also stressed the importance of establishing a dedicated Project Management Unit (PMU) to facilitate smooth implementation and monitoring of these initiatives across departments.
Inspector General of Police Jammu, Bhim Sen Tuti, informed the meeting that the police department as per the earlier directions had developed an AI-based tool aimed at improving investigation and litigation processes. He said that the project is currently at an advanced stage and would significantly enhance operational efficiency. Notably, the tool is being designed to function entirely in-house without the need for internet connectivity, he apprised the meeting.
Earlier, Secretary Information Technology, Dr Piyush Singla, briefed the meeting about the progress made by the Union Territory in leveraging AI for governance. He informed that a Detailed Project Report (DPR) worth ₹20 Cr for establishing a Centre of Excellence in Emerging Technologies has been jointly prepared by the IT Department and Indian IIT, Jammu and submitted to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology for approval. The proposed centre is expected to be set up under a Centre-UT funding pattern of 90:10.
He further stated that eight additional Data Innovation Labs are proposed to be established with central funding in Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) across the Union Territory. These labs are expected to play a pivotal role in strengthening the AI and data ecosystem and building grassroots-level capacity in data science.
The Secretary also highlighted the need for establishing a dedicated Jammu and Kashmir AI Mission (JK AIM) to coordinate AI-related initiatives across departments in a structured manner.
During the meeting, several potential AI applications across governance sectors were identified, including AI-based disaster risk and early warning systems, agriculture and horticulture advisory platforms, health triage and disease surveillance tools, office workflow automation, AI-supported learning systems in education, land asset and infrastructure monitoring, youth employment and skill-matching platforms, and AI-based grievance redressal systems along with a dozen of initiatives across different departments.
On the occasion, the Chief Secretary also launched the inaugural issue of ‘Digital Dhara’, a bi-monthly magazine of the Information Technology Department. The publication aims to promote digital awareness and transparency while documenting key milestones in IT governance in Jammu and Kashmir. It will also highlight emerging technological trends and innovations to inform and engage readers across the UT on regular basis from today.