West Bengal has prepared an AI mission and is moving towards its implementation as the state seeks to develop a technology ecosystem built around talent, entrepreneurship, investment and digital infrastructure, Information Technology and Electronics Minister Dr Kalyan Chakraborty said at the 25th edition of ICT East in Kolkata on October 2.
Chakraborty said West Bengal needed to move beyond being a consumer of technology and become a producer. He said artificial intelligence and digital technologies were rapidly changing business activity, government administration and the relationship between citizens and technology.
According to the minister, the state government has completed the preparation of the West Bengal AI Mission and is now working towards implementation. A new framework is also being prepared to strengthen the state’s data centres and expand the ecosystem for artificial intelligence and quantum technologies.
The announcement was made during the opening session of ICT East, whose theme this year is “Eastern India in the Age of AI: Innovation, Impact and Inclusion”. The event is focused on identifying opportunities created by AI and strengthening the technology ecosystem across eastern India.
The minister said technological progress in eastern India should be based on innovation, impact and inclusion so that the benefits of digital transformation reach all sections of society. The statement places digital infrastructure and access alongside technology development as part of the state’s proposed AI ecosystem.
A report titled “Building West Bengal’s New Age IT, ESDM, Semiconductor and AI/ML Ecosystem” was also released at the event. The report contains recommendations related to incentives, infrastructure, skills development, research and innovation, and ease of governance for strengthening the technology sector.
Industry representatives at the event highlighted the organisational and infrastructure requirements associated with wider AI adoption. Shashi Sridharan, managing director of Google Cloud India, said the rapid pace of change in AI would require organisations and employees to keep learning and move away from older ways of working.
Deepak N.G., managing director of Dassault Systèmes, said companies needed to focus on protecting and using enterprise data to develop industry-specific AI capabilities. He also pointed to the potential of virtual twins to improve coordination between industry and academia.
Debdas Sen, chief executive officer of TCG Digital, described AI as a major opportunity for Bengal and said the state would need the will and commitment to lead the technological transition. Prosenjit Sengupta, chairman of the CII Eastern Region ICT Sub-Committee and Group CDIO of ITC Limited, said AI development was moving beyond copilots towards AI agents capable of operating entire workflows.
Manojit Sengupta, co-chairman of the CII Eastern Region ICT Sub-Committee and delivery centre head at TCS, said eastern India had an opportunity to make a significant contribution to India’s emerging AI ecosystem. The event concluded with an emphasis on building stronger capabilities in AI, semiconductors, electronics system design and manufacturing, and next-generation information technology.
