Mumbai: The state govt aims to attract more than Rs 10,000 crore investment in artificial intelligence (AI) by 2030-31 and generate over 1.5 lakh direct and indirect jobs in AI and AI-enabled domains.The state’s new AI policy gives out several subsidies. Officials said as part of fixed capital investment (FCI) incentive (capital subsidy), AI units will be eligible for up to 20% capital subsidy with a total allocation limit of Rs 2,000 crore. There will be 100% exemption on stamp duty to AI units, which will be eligible for a power duty exemption too. There will also be reimbursement of exhibition rentals for AI units based in Maharashtra for participating in national and international exhibitions up to Rs 10 and Rs 25 lakhs. The policy states that 12 AI incubators will be established across Maharashtra, with two in each administrative division, to ensure balanced regional development and access to innovation infrastructure beyond major urban centres.The AI policy which was announced in Jan 2025 was approved by the state cabinet recently. The policy was rolled out by the department of electronics, information technology and artificial intelligence led by minister Ashish Shelar.“Other key aims and objectives of the policy include skill 2 lakh youth and professionals in AI, data, cloud, and emerging technologies. Enable a minimum of one AI use case per department in Maharashtra or at least 50 AI use cases statewide. Create six AI Centres of Excellence (CoEs), with one CoE in each administrative division of Maharashtra. Set up the Maharashtra Applied AI Accelerator to drive prototypes, pilots, and innovation. Deploy at least 2,000 GPUs, 1,000 in one AI region and the rest across the state in other regions. Establish AI Innovation Cities anchored within 5 Innovation Region. Support 5,000 MSMEs for AI adoption. Support in establishing at least one AI Unicorn in Maharashtra,” officials said.“Maharashtra’s AI policy is structured around seven core pillars that provide a focused framework for the development, adoption, and governance of AI in the state. These pillars are aligned with the IndiaAI Mission and reflect the state’s approach to building foundational capabilities, promoting innovation, and ensuring responsible use of AI technologies. The pillars seek to enable scalable AI adoption across government and industry,” the policy states.The policy also provides for capacity building for govt officials. “The state shall undertake focused capacity building initiatives for govt officials to enhance institutional readiness for AI adoption, implementation, and governance. Recognising the critical role of public officials in driving demand-side adoption, the state shall design structured AI training programmes tailored to different levels of responsibility and functional roles within govt,” the policy states.
