KSUM, Kerala IT Mission Hold Workshop on ‘Smart Governance using AI’

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Representatives of various government departments, state agencies and startups came together to explore the scope of leveraging AI-based governance solutions at a workshop organized by Kerala State IT Mission in collaboration with Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and ICT Academy here today.

Dr. A. Jayathilak, Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala delivered the inaugural address at the workshop held at Technopark.

Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Special Secretary, E&IT, delivered the special address.

Sandip Kumar, Director KSITM made the welcome speech and Anoop Ambika, CEO, KSUM proposed a vote of thanks.

The workshop was the first step in IT Mission’s initiative ‘K-AI The Guiding Hand of Smart Governance’ which saw the convergence of various governing bodies including Kerala Police, Health and Family Welfare Department, Devaswom Board, Finance Department, State Disaster Management Authority, Motor Vehicle Department, Agriculture Department and General Education.

A flagship initiative aimed at accelerating the adoption of AI solutions across government departments, Kerala AI (K-AI) envisions a collaborative ecosystem where emerging technologies meet public service delivery, enabling smarter, faster, and citizen-centric governance.

K-AI aims to create a dynamic platform for co-creation and deployment of tech-driven interventions in the public sector by identifying real-world use cases from various departments and mapping them to innovative AI solutions developed by startups.

Representatives of KSUM-backed startups made presentation on AI- based solutions that are helpful for various governing processes including data analysis and mapping systems.

Various departments and state establishments that participated in the workshop presented some of the problems peculiar to each of them to ascertain if AI-based solutions developed by the startup ecosystem in the state could be leveraged.

These included ‘pilgrim crowd management using AI’ by Devaswom Board, the scope of AI to forecast the outbreak of communicable diseases’ and ‘AI- based decision support system for medical diagnoses by the Department of Health and Family Welfare and ‘pest and disease prediction and surveillance’ by the Agriculture Department.

AI- based law assistance for criminal case support, Usage of AI and ML (machine learning) in law enforcement, data analysis of budget preparation, Multi-Hazard susceptibility mapping using AI, AI powered industrial safety, reducing school dropouts using AI assessment methods, suitability assessment of crop cultivation were the other key areas covered by the workshop.

The workshop enabled meaningful dialogue between government stakeholders and the startup ecosystem, by promoting innovation, trust, transparency, and efficiency in public administration.

As a next step after the workshop, KSUM and IT mission will closely follow up with government departments and startups who have shown mutual interest and convert it into business opportunities.