Nagpur: Mihan is one of three locations identified for dedicated manufacturing clusters of drones and other unmanned systems under Maharashtra’s new Unmanned Systems Policy 2026-31, according to a summary of the policy shared by Bhuvaneswari S, state commissioner for Electronics, IT and AI.AURIC in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Pune region are the other two locations.Bhuvaneswari presented the policy, along with the state’s AI policy, at the 4th CII Vidarbha IT Conclave at IIM-Nagpur on Saturday. The conclave, organised by Confederation of Indian Industry’s Vidarbha zone, was themed ‘Building a Trusted Cyber Security Ecosystem for Global Innovation & Investment’.The unmanned systems policy targets investment of Rs25,000 crore and over one lakh direct and indirect jobs, with three Centres of Excellence for aerial, ground and maritime systems and 5,000 certified remote pilots. The clusters are to offer plug-and-play sheds, shared testing facilities and common utilities.New and expanding units can get a capital subsidy of up to 20%, with total subsidy capped at Rs 2,000 crore over the five-year policy period. The listed uses include crop spraying, forest monitoring, disaster response and drone ambulances.The AI policy 2026-31 aims to attract over Rs 10,000 crore of AI investment by 2031, create 1.5 lakh direct and indirect jobs and skill two lakh youth and professionals. It provides for at least 2,000 GPUs across the state, with startups and MSMEs getting on-demand access at subsidised or concessional rates.The policy proposes 12 AI incubators, two in each administrative division, housed in govt technical and academic institutions, which would mean two for Nagpur division. A Rs500 crore AI startup venture fund is to be funded half by the state and half by industry, and startups can get pilot grants of up to Rs1 crore, or Rs 1.25 crore for women-led ones, to test solutions inside govt departments.AI units can also get a capital subsidy of up to 20% and a 100% stamp duty exemption. The state will build Marathi and tribal dialect datasets, and every govt department is to undergo an annual AI readiness audit.Investment was the thread running through the conclave’s programme. Sessions were scheduled on cybersecurity as the foundation for investment and innovation.
