Govt signs MoU with ARF for AI-driven urban governance

Bhubaneswar: The housing and urban development (H&UD) department on Wednesday signed an MoU with AIRAWAT Research Foundation (ARF), IIT Kanpur, to strengthen AI-driven urban governance in Odisha.The MoU was signed in the presence of additional chief secretary Usha Padhee, who said the state aims to use emerging technologies to improve urban planning, service delivery and evidence-based decision-making.Under the partnership, ARF will serve as the department’s AI innovation partner, providing strategic and technical support to design and adopt AI-enabled solutions across Odisha’s urban ecosystem.“Odisha is committed to building cities that are not only smarter, but also more humane, responsive and inclusive. This partnership will help us harness the power of AI to improve urban services, strengthen governance systems and ensure that decision-making is guided by data, transparency and citizen needs,” Padhee said.ARF CEO Amar Nath said collaboration between govt and research institutions is essential to develop AI solutions that are impactful, scalable and aligned with citizen needs. He said ARF will support Odisha in building robust, responsible and governance-ready AI applications for urban transformation.The collaboration will focus on co-developing and deploying priority AI solutions for key urban governance challenges, strengthening data systems and digital infrastructure, and mobilising the ecosystem through engagement with research institutions, startups and technology partners. It also includes knowledge partnership and capacity building to ensure AI use is responsible, ethical and transparent.A key element of the MoU is the proposed establishment of an AI Project Management Unit (AI-PMU) within the department to coordinate AI initiatives, support implementation, develop standards and build internal capacity for responsible AI use in governance.The partnership will also support preparation of a multi-year AI roadmap for Odisha, aligned with the state’s inclusive and resilient urban development goals, identifying sectoral priorities, implementation pathways and frameworks to scale AI solutions in Urban Local Bodies. The initiative was facilitated by the eGov team led by Subrata Biswal, head of eGov Foundation, Odisha.