The Maharashtra Cabinet on 29 April 2026 formally approved the Artificial Intelligence Policy 2026, giving statutory backing to what had previously been announced as a proposal. The policy is structured around seven pillars:
Pillar 3 — Maharashtra Centre for Advanced AI Training (MCAT): A dual industry-academia platform explicitly tasked with training 2 lakh youth and professionals in AI technologies, with state funding. This is the first large-scale, government-funded public AI skills programme in the state.
Pillar 6 — AI Excellence Centres: Six sector-specific Centres of Excellence to be established in Health, Agriculture, Education, Urban Development, Marathi Language & Culture, and Finance-Revenue.
Pillar 7 — Ethical AI Framework: Maharashtra becomes the first Indian state to establish a separate framework for ethical AI use, with a mandatory annual “AI readiness audit” for every government department.
Maharashtra AI Mission: A dedicated named mission body aligned with the central India AI Mission, with a mandate covering research, innovation, and responsible governance. The mission is advisory in nature; no statutory regulator or enforcement authority is created.
Infrastructure: 2,000 GPUs to be made available via a “Computer as a Service” platform for all government departments. A ₹500 crore venture capital fund (₹250 crore state contribution) will support AI startups.
Investment and employment targets: ₹10,000 crore investment and 1.5 lakh new employment opportunities by 2031.
Source confirmed via PTI / Business Standard, published 30 April 2026. Cabinet approval date: 29 April 2026.
Score rationale
- Dim 10: Maharashtra AI Mission is a named state body with a formal AI governance mandate (research, innovation, responsible governance), but advisory — not a statutory regulator with enforcement powers. Confirms existing score of 1; no change.
- Dim 13: The MCAT commitment to train 2 lakh youth and professionals through a state-funded programme constitutes publicly funded AI literacy resources available to the general population at scale. Upgrade from 1 to 2.