AI shouldn’t be seen as replacement, it must be leveraged for enhancement: Maharashtra CM

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis

• Fadnavis urges using AI to enhance, not replace, job roles
• He stresses faster AI adoption for all generations
• Maharashtra must boost R&D spending in tech and industry

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Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on February 24 warned that the generations that don’t adapt to the change artificial intelligence (AI) is bringing, will be in trouble. He urged people to utilise AI for “enhancing” their existing job roles.

Speaking on a panel at the Nasscom Technology & Leadership Forum 2026 in Mumbai, Fadnavis said said, “We should not look at AI as a replacement. We should leverage it as an enhancement. When the computer revolution came, there was a big debate in this country that computers were going to take all the jobs away, and the country will become jobless. There were national leaders who were absolutely opposing computers.”

“But we lived up to it, and we used that computer revolution to leapfrog. In this era of AI, certainly the nature of jobs are going to change. If you look at the new generation, they are born with technology. They know how to use it. So, this generation will adopt it (AI), but in any case, our generation has to work more so that this adoption is fast, and this transition is fast,” he added.

‘Maharashtra needs to focus on R&D’

Fadnavis also highlighted the need for pushing research and development (R&D) spending by enterprises and the State in this technological era.

He said that while the policies in the state are focused on research and the state government has already incentivised research, the amount of work done in this space is still not enough.

“The amount of research which we require is not being done. I think it is high time that the government and the private sector both look at it. For instance, there has been a huge thrust from the central government on research. One of the biggest fund of funds was created by the Modi government for research,” Fadnavis said.

He added, “But I think now at the state level too we need to do more. We need to work more with the industry.”