Maharashtra is looking to position itself at the forefront of India’s artificial intelligence push, with plans to attract Rs 10,000 crore in investments, create 125 lakh jobs and build dedicated infrastructure to support startups and innovation in the sector.
Speaking at an event organised by the tech startup community in Mumbai, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state has already put in place an AI policy aimed at creating a comprehensive ecosystem around the technology.
“We have created a very robust policy whereby we look at Rs 10,000 crore investment in AI, 125 lakh jobs being created. We want to create six centres of excellence around AI. We are going to create AI innovation regions,” Fadnavis said during his address at day 1 of Mumbai Tech Week.
As part of the initiative, Maharashtra plans to establish six Centres of Excellence focused on AI and create dedicated AI Innovation Regions to encourage research, development and commercialisation. The state is also working on a compute-as-a-service model that will provide innovators access to 2,000 GPUs, a critical resource for developing and training AI models.
Fadnavis said access to computing infrastructure remains one of the biggest barriers for startups and innovators, particularly in a rapidly evolving AI landscape where demand for processing power continues to rise.
The Chief Minister argued that Maharashtra is uniquely positioned to benefit from the AI wave, citing Mumbai’s status as India’s financial capital and a major fintech hub, a sector that has emerged as one of the largest adopters of AI technologies.
Beyond policy announcements, the state government also highlighted a growing number of AI-led initiatives already being deployed across departments.
From Farms to Policing
Among them is Mahavistar, a digital platform that serves as a one-stop interface for farmers.
“We displayed the Mahavistar app at the India AI Summit, and now the government of India is coming with India Vistar app based on our app,” the CM said.
The state is also expanding AI-enabled building plan approval systems across urban local bodies to improve transparency and efficiency in municipal processes.
In policing and criminal justice, Maharashtra has developed Crime OS, a platform built in collaboration with Microsoft that digitises investigations and documentation. The government expects the system to significantly reduce the time taken to prepare charge sheets and improve coordination across agencies.
Other initiatives include an AI-driven HR stack for managing the government’s workforce, technology-led fraud detection in public health insurance schemes, and the creation of multiple AI engines across departments to address sector-specific use cases. AI-powered surveillance systems are also being used for traffic management, disaster response and predictive planning.
Alongside the technology push, Fadnavis outlined an ambitious infrastructure pipeline for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Physical Multipliers
The Coastal Road project is set to be extended northwards to Bhayandar, with plans to eventually reach Virar through what the state expects will become India’s longest sea bridge. The government is also planning twin tunnels connecting Bandra directly to the Bandra-Kurla Complex and the airport network to ease congestion in one of Mumbai’s busiest business districts.
Additional projects include the Worli-Sewri connectivity corridor, extensions to the Eastern Freeway, new tunnels linking south and central Mumbai, and the continued expansion of the metro network. Fadnavis also said planning is underway for a third airport near Virar, which could become India’s first offshore airport.