Bhubaneswar, Feb 11 (IANS) In a significant step towards building sustainable and citizen-centric cities, the Odisha Housing & Urban Development department (H&UD), on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen AI-driven urban governance in the state.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Usha Padhee, Additional Chief Secretary, H&UD department, who reiterated Odisha’s strong commitment to leveraging emerging technologies for improved urban planning, service delivery and evidence-based decision-making.
According to an official statement, the firm with which the MoU was signed will act as the department’s AI Innovation Partner, providing strategic and technical support for the design and adoption of AI-enabled solutions across Odisha’s urban ecosystem.
Speaking on the occasion, Padhee said; “Odisha is committed to building cities that are not only smarter, but also more humane, responsive and inclusive. This partnership will help us harness the power of AI to improve urban services, strengthen governance systems and ensure that decision-making is guided by data, transparency and citizen needs.”
Meanwhile, the CEO of the firm with which the MoU was inked highlighted the importance of collaborative innovation between government and premier research institutions to ensure that AI solutions are impactful, scalable and aligned with citizen needs. He expressed ARF’s commitment to supporting Odisha in developing robust, responsible and governance-ready AI applications for urban transformation.
The department further underscored that collaboration aims to co-develop and deploy priority AI solutions to address key challenges in urban governance, strengthen data systems and digital infrastructure, and support ecosystem mobilisation through engagement with research institutions, startups and technology partners.
The MoU also places strong emphasis on knowledge partnership and institutional capacity building, ensuring that AI is used in a responsible, ethical and transparent manner for public benefit.
A key component of the partnership is the proposed establishment of an AI Project Management Unit (AI-PMU) within the H&UD department.
The AI-PMU will coordinate AI initiatives, support implementation, develop standards and build internal capacity. The partnership will also prepare a multi-year AI roadmap for Odisha. The roadmap will outline sectoral priorities and scaling pathways for Urban Local Bodies.
–IANS
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