From Gadchiroli mines to smart tourism, AI to shape Viksit Bharat

Nagpur: Artificial intelligence emerged as a central pillar in India's roadmap towards Viksit Bharat 2047 during a high-level session at Advantage Vidarbha 2026 — Vidarbha's Mega Industrial Expo, Business Conclave and Investment Summit on Friday. Industry leaders, govt officials and academics underlined how AI-led solutions can transform sectors ranging from mining and logistics to tourism, agriculture and education, while ensuring inclusive and sustainable growth, emphasising that Gen-Z has the potential to contribute significantly to the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.Rahul Karangale, principal consultant at Infosys, Mihan, set the tone by explaining the broader vision of Viksit Bharat. "Development cannot be seen in isolation. Ecology, economy and overall growth have to move together," he said. Citing Gadchiroli as an example, Karangale highlighted the need for sustainable mining supported by AI-based precision technologies. "Instead of just studying models, young students like you should visit such regions, understand ground realities, and then deploy AI solutions to make mining more efficient and environmentally responsible," he said.
He also pointed to opportunities in automated logistics and intelligent tourism. "While many logistics operations in Vidarbha are still manual, large players have already moved to automation," Karangale said, adding that Vidarbha's forests, rivers and natural assets can support 12-month intelligent tourism through data-driven planning.Shantanu Vishwanadha, developer relations (APAC) at Zencoder, traced the evolution of AI from rigid, rule-based systems to today's advanced models. Explaining everyday applications, he said, "Famous food delivery platforms track user history through APIs to personalise recommendations — that is AI in action." He spoke about the paradigm shift between 2005 and 2025, citing examples from autonomous vehicles to digital payments, and underlined AI's role in platforms such as UPI, where security and threat detection rely heavily on machine learning.Ranjan Pandhare, MahaSTRIDE's Nagpur division head, gave a brief presentation on India's first smart intelligent village, Satnavari, showcasing AI and IoT use cases are already being implemented. These include smart healthcare systems linking rural patients with specialists, precision agriculture for optimised pesticide use, and AI-driven water monitoring to improve quality and supply. "Each model village requires an investment of around Rs 60-70 lakh, and nearly 75 such villages are planned across the state," he said.Dr Pramod Jumle, director of training at the Board of Apprenticeship Training, govt of Maharashtra, focused on the practical aspects of Viksit Bharat for students and teachers. Referring to NEP 2020, he said the policy places strong emphasis on employability through skill-based learning and apprenticeships. He highlighted that although India holds nearly 16% of the world's AI talent and has a rapidly growing pool of over 6 lakh AI professionals, demand for skills in AI, data science, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and related domains continues to outpace supply. Additionally, Dr Smita Singh (Dabholkar), assistant professor at IMT, Nagpur, highlighted the role of youth and academia in harnessing AI responsibly to support the national development vision.