New Delhi, India — The Jharkhand government has presented its Draft Artificial Intelligence Policy 2026, outlining a five-year roadmap to deploy AI across public administration, healthcare, education, agriculture, mining, environmental management and disaster response.
The draft policy was presented during the two-day National Stakeholders’ Consultation held in New Delhi on July 8 and 9, 2026. The event brought together policymakers, investors, technology companies, industry representatives and academic experts to discuss Jharkhand’s Vision 2050 and its technology-led development plans.
Under the proposed framework, the state plans to establish a State AI Mission under the Department of Information Technology and e-Governance. The mission will coordinate AI strategy, project implementation, capacity building, standards, departmental adoption and collaboration with national initiatives.
The policy also proposes a shared Jharkhand AI Cloud, which would be hosted at or integrated with the Jharkhand State Data Centre. The infrastructure is expected to offer computing resources, scalable storage, model-training and inference environments, application programming interfaces, data pipelines, sandbox facilities and security controls for government departments.
AI-based systems are proposed for monitoring government programmes, analysing beneficiaries, managing grievances and supporting administrative decision-making. The state also plans to develop AI applications for early disease screening, agricultural advisories, mineral exploration, industrial inspection, pollution forecasting and disaster planning.
“Jharkhand should be known not only for its mines but also for its minds,” Chief Minister Hemant Soren said during the consultation, emphasising the state’s plans to move from resource extraction towards research, innovation and a knowledge-based economy. Representatives from Microsoft, Google and IBM also participated and shared recommendations for strengthening the state’s technology ecosystem.
The draft proposes an estimated outlay of ₹1,150 crore over five years for AI infrastructure, Centres of Excellence, skilling and innovation support. It also includes provisions for AI parks and innovation zones, startup incubation, access to shared computing infrastructure, industry-academia partnerships and simplified procurement opportunities for emerging technology companies.
Responsible AI is another key component of the policy. Proposed deployments would be required to follow principles covering legality, transparency, accountability, fairness, privacy and explainability. The state also plans to integrate AI security with Jhar-CERT and introduce periodic audits, risk assessments and compliance checks.
During the broader consultation, Jharkhand announced investment agreements worth approximately ₹87,000 crore across multiple sectors. The government also presented proposed policies covering investment promotion, tourism, textiles, industrial-area regulations and public-private partnerships.
The Draft AI Policy will undergo stakeholder consultation before being finalised and formally notified by the state government.
