At the ongoing Budgetary Session of the Goa Legislative Assembly, IT Minister Rohan Khaunte announced the Goa AI and Deep-Tech Policy will be notified within the next 100 days. He also highlighted the government’s vision to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a strong focus on developing local talent to create home-grown AI solutions.
Replying to a Private Member Resolutions moved by Curtorim MLA, Aleixo Lourenco, the IT Minister explained that the world is moving from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0, where technology works together with humans instead of replacing them. “We’re entering the age of Industry 5.0 where machines work alongside human beings. AI will support human decision-making, creativity and skills while keeping people at the centre,” he said, adding that the Department of Information Technology, Electronics & Communications (DITE&C) is promoting ‘Artificial Intelligence with a Human Touch.’
Khaunte stated Goa has a strong digital base to support this transition. The GoaOnline portal already offers 280 services from 41 departments reaching citizens and businesses with 9.1 lakh registered users and 19.9 lakh number of transactions. Along with growing digital awareness among people, this platform provides a solid foundation to introduce new technologies like the recently introduced AI-powered chatbot.
Under the Goa AI Mission 2027, launched in 2025, DITE&C is working on four key pillars: Skilling, Startups & Companies, Capital, and Governance & Infrastructure. With a strong focus on education and skill development, plans are underway to introduce AI as a subject in schools and colleges, set up AI learning laboratories and train teachers. Study material will be made available in Konkani, Marathi, Hindi and English to ensure that students from all backgrounds can benefit.
The state is also working with institutions such as Indian Institute of Technology Goa, National Institute of Technology Goa, BITS Pilani Goa Campus, Goa Engineering College and Goa Institute of Management to strengthen AI education and research. In parallel, grants and structured support will be extended to AI startups, with specific provisions for women-led startups.
A major step in making AI more accessible is the partnership with Bhashini, the language translation mission under Digital India, to develop a Konkani LLM. This will allow AI systems to understand and communicate in Konkani, helping citizens access government services in their own local language.
DITE&C is also working on the AI Kosh initiative, which will ensure that the vast data assets held by government departments are made available responsibly for AI research and innovation. It’s also developing an AI Readiness Index to determine the preparedness of every department to adopt and benefit from Artificial Intelligence.
Looking ahead, the government also plans to set up an AI Centre of Excellence in Goa. Artificial Intelligence applications are also being planned across sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, tourism and public service delivery, while initiatives such as the Chips-to-Startup (C2S) programme are helping build semiconductor design capabilities among students and 5G Use Case Labs at BITS Pilani Goa Campus and NIT Goa are enabling students and researchers to test next‑generation applications.
The Goa AI Policy, which will be notified in the next 100 days, will bring all these initiatives together and guide the state’s AI development across education, governance, industry and research. It will create skilled job opportunities for the Goan youth while positioning the state as a centre for Artificial Intelligence and deep-technology across the country.
After a detailed discussion and a satisfactory response by the Minister, the resolutions put forward by the private member were withdrawn in the assembly.
