Goa emerges as India's AI testbed with progressive policies and innovation-driven ecosystem
India’s coastal paradise has set its sights on becoming an AI testbed. When the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (DITE&C) hosted the inaugural Goa AI Tech Conclave during the last week of October 2026, the underlying objective went far beyond simply holding a regional tech conference in the state. At its core, the conclave reflected a strategic vision by Rohan Khaunte, minister for information technology, electronics & communications, to position Goa as India’s AI testbed and a premier hub for creative innovation and sustainable tech enterprises.
Held under the theme of ‘AI for People, Planet and Progress’, the two-day summit was inaugurated by Pramod Sawant, chief minister, Goa, alongside Khaunte. It brought together policy-makers, industry leaders, start-ups and students for high-impact panels, tech challenges and technological showcases.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is moving forward with ambitious AI goals and every state now has a target regarding how quickly it can adopt AI and help citizens understand it”, Sawant stated, while speaking at the conclave. He highlighted the state’s expanding technology ecosystem and underscored the critical need for youth upskilling, calling for AI training initiatives to be expanded across all of Goa’s talukas.
A major highlight of the conclave was the unveiling of the Goa AI Policy 2026, which establishes a structured three-year roadmap (2026-2029) and places Goa among a select group of Indian states with a dedicated AI strategy. “With this progressive AI Policy 2026 and the overarching vision of the Goa AI Mission 2027, the state aims to harness AI not merely as a tool for technological advancement but as an enabler of inclusive growth, citizen-centric governance and new economic opportunities,” asserted Khaunte. “As India marches firmly towards the goal of a Viksit Bharat, Goa too is embracing emerging technologies with a clear vision,” he added.
The five pillars
The Goa AI policy is designed to establish Goa as India’s responsible AI and Applied Innovation hub. It is founded on five pillars – skilling and capacity building; start-ups and industries; capital and investments; policy, governance and infrastructure; and responsible, safe, and ethical AI.
Apart from the policy launch, the summit served as a launchpad for several landmark initiatives, including the unveiling of the Goa AI Hackathon for smarter governance alongside major developments under the Digital India BHASHINI initiative. Building on an MoU signed earlier with the department, BHASHINI is developing a Konkani Large Language Model (LLM) in close coordination with the Department of Higher Education and the Directorate of Official Languages to create localised models for state governance. To gather the necessary text and audio datasets, the state is leveraging BhashaDaan, BHASHINI’s official crowd-sourcing project, inviting citizen and student contributions, complemented by Granthika, a guided digitisation workbench, engaging elderly citizens to digitise historical literature and manuscript heritage. The conclave also featured the launch of the Living Library of Goa Rural AI report by Hyprlocl and the felicitation of 12 Drone Didis, who completed foundational training and are advancing to higher-level certification.
At the event, two prominent engineering colleges in Goa – Padre Conceicao College of Engineering (PCCE), Verna, and Agnel Institute of Engineering and Management (AIEM), Assagao – signed an MoU with Sirena Technologies Private Limited. Under the MoU, Sirena Technologies will set up Centres of Excellence (CoE) and advanced R&D Labs in Physical AI, Robotics and Humanoids across both campuses, marking the first such initiative at the engineering college level in Goa.
Over the two days, the event featured closed-room CXO roundtables and seven main-stage panels exploring critical themes, such as the future of AI, inclusive and ethical AI, Goa as an AI-native GCC destination, AI-powered tourism and building Goa AI from the ground up. On day two, the focus shifted to harnessing AI for climate resilience and sustainability, exploring how Goa can adopt AI while safeguarding its fragile coastal and regional ecology, using global best practices, alongside an insightful session on AI for industrial transformation.
The conclave also served as an important platform for Goa’s growing start-up community, which counts 856 DPIIT-registered start-ups, including 404 with women founders. Parallel enclaves buzzed with activity, as 14 start-ups spanning SaaS, health-tech, clean-tech, tourism-tech and AI products pitched directly to investors for valuable industry feedback. The event also featured hands-on skill-development workshops by TAWAI Studio for students and creative professionals, as well as dedicated women-in-tech leadership sessions.
On the exhibition floor, industry leaders including Digital India, BHASHINI, Google, Microsoft and CommScope drew crowds of developers, delegates and students. Under the Sankalp Setu hackathon competition, 12 student teams were felicitated as finalists. First place was secured by Avya: Communicate Without Barriers from MES Vasant Joshi College of Arts & Commerce, Vasco; second place went to Unified Patient Identity & Emergency Health Record from the Goa College of Architecture; and third place was awarded to NUSTE LINK: AI-powered Decision Support for Goa’s Fish Catch from Sateri Parsva Education Society’s Goa Multi-Faculty College. Additionally, the ceremony recognised the winners of the Inclusive AI Challenge, with Team Vidyut taking first place and Team MSCW finishing as runners-up. Celebrating creative tech talent, certificates were also presented to Tanmay Palyekar (first) and Siddhali Patil (second) in the AI Jingle-Making Competition and Faizan Akabani (first) and Soniya Modar (second) in the AI Reel-Making Competition.
Goa is genuinely becoming a home for innovative and creative minds. By turning progressive policy into actionable ground reality, nurturing local talent and fostering an innovation-first ecosystem, the state is firmly establishing itself as India’s premier AI testbed, demonstrating that a region can blend rich cultural heritage with cutting-edge digital transformation to lead India’s Industry 5.0 evolution.