Tripua Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha today announced that Tripura will soon roll out the country’s first state-level Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy, with support from NITI Aayog and the Atal Innovation Mission.
Speaking at the launch of the State Innovation Mission at the International Exhibition Centre in Hapania, Agartala, Dr. Saha said the initiative marks a significant step toward strengthening the state’s innovation ecosystem. The event was attended by Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, along with other senior officials.
Dr. Saha described the State Innovation Mission as India’s first such initiative at the state level, aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, promoting emerging technologies, and converting innovative ideas into practical ventures. He highlighted the state government’s focus on administrative reforms, digital governance, and progressive industrial and startup policies. According to him, Tripura has achieved complete paperless functioning across all levels of governance — from the Cabinet and State Secretariat to village councils and Gram Panchayats — ensuring improved transparency and efficiency.
The Chief Minister stated that the mission is part of NITI Aayog’s State Support Mission, designed to help states and Union Territories develop localized innovation ecosystems aligned with their strengths. The Tripura State Innovation Mission, supported by the Atal Innovation Mission, seeks to nurture enterprises in sectors such as agriculture, green technology, tourism, healthcare, and digital services.
He further informed that the Tripura Institution for Transformation and the Department of Information Technology have partnered with premier institutions, including Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and T-Hub, to conceptualize and operationalize the mission and its execution arm, T-NEST.
T-NEST will function as a bridge connecting academic institutions, entrepreneurs, and investors. It will be integrated with a proposed incubation and innovation park at Chandmari, near the upcoming Airtel data centre. Innovation hubs are also planned across all eight districts of the state, alongside the launch of District Innovator Fellowships to encourage grassroots innovation.
As part of the AI Policy rollout, the government plans to introduce AI-driven solutions for smart city management in Agartala. These applications will focus on traffic control, parking management, electricity distribution, drinking water supply, flood management, waste management, and property assessment. Technology firms have already shown interest in contributing AI-based solutions to enhance public service delivery.
Dr. Saha also announced plans to establish a Tripura AI Centre of Excellence with support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Additionally, the state is preparing to develop a Tripura IT and Data Economic Zone and an IT park offering co-working spaces to boost the IT, IT-enabled services (ITES), and data centre ecosystem.
The programme was attended by senior dignitaries, including NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Suman Bery, Member V.K. Saraswat, IT and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy, Chief Secretary J.K. Sinha, and Secretary Kiran Gitte, among others.
