Karnataka Budget proposes AI Cell for governance, allocates Rs 50 Cr for Centre for Applied AI

Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah presenting the state Budget 2025.

The Karnataka government will establish a Centre for Applied AI for Tech Solutions (CATS) with a Rs 50 crore investment over five years, aiming to make the southern state a leader in artificial intelligence, chief minister Siddaramaiah said in his budget speech on March 7.

Widely regarded as the country's leading tech hub, the state is also making a significant AI push in governance.

It has proposed setting up a Karnataka AI Cell to strengthen AI-driven governance. The Cell is developing AI-based solutions using Computer Vision, NLP (Natural Language Processing), LLM (Large Language Model), and other AI technologies.

A new tool called AI-based Government Order Summary and Information Extraction Tool will also facilitate officials and citizens to easily access information on government orders, policies and schemes, Siddaramaiah said.

The state is also implementing an AI-driven integrated public grievance redressal system, IPGRS 2.0, to effectively resolve public grievances, the chief minister said.

Other measures include the introduction of Karnataka Advanced Attendance Management System across all departments that will leverage AI and Geographic Information System (GIS) technologies.

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The state is also establishing an AI-based "Kalika Deepa” programme in collaboration with Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani's EkStep foundation to enable students in 2,000 schools learn Kannada and English languages and acquire early mathematical competencies.

Karnataka chief minister announced that the state government is also upgrading the Karnataka-GIS (K-GIS) portal of Karnataka State Remote Sensing Application Centre (KSRSAC) to version 2.0 in phases from 2025-26. The upgrade, estimated to cost Rs 150 crore, will incorporate modern technologies such as AI/ML and other tools, Siddaramaiah said.

The K-GIS portal provides information on departmental assets and has also digitized Hissa maps for over 29,000 revenue villages.

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During his budget speech, Siddaramaiah also proposed a new smart system that will provide transcriptions of court proceedings, translations of judicial documents and other information. Built for Rs 2 crore, the system will use modern AI technology for this initiative, he said.

Other AI-related initiatives include setting up Digital Agricultural Service Centres that will use AI, digital, and geospatial technologies to find solutions for the challenges faced by the farmers in the state. These centres will also aim to help farmers and policy makers take "accurate decisions" on crops to improve productivity, Siddaramaiah said.

AI-enabled electronic cameras will also be installed at 60 places in Davanagere, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Chitradurga, Haveri, Hospet, Bellari, Vijayapura and Dakshina Kannada districts at the cost of Rs 50 crore to help monitor vehicular traffic and to detect and control cases of violation of traffic rules.