Telangana Aims to Become Global AI Hub, Urges Industry to Build and Invest in State
Telangana is working to strengthen its position as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI), with the state government calling on industry to build AI products, develop intellectual property and invest in technologies aimed at global markets.
Hyderabad: Telangana is working to strengthen its position as a global hub for artificial intelligence (AI), with the state government calling on industry to build AI products, develop intellectual property and invest in technologies aimed at global markets.
The message was delivered at the CII Telangana AI Summit 2026, organised in Hyderabad on September 23 on the theme “Telangana to the World: Driving Global AI and GCC Transformation.” The summit brought together technology leaders, industry experts, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), policymakers and digital innovators to discuss enterprise AI adoption, responsible AI, digital infrastructure, talent and policy.
Speaking at the summit, Sanjay Jaju, IAS, Chief Secretary and Special Chief Secretary (FAC), ITE&C and Industries & Commerce Departments, Government of Telangana, said the state’s ambition was to move beyond AI adoption and build AI products, intellectual property and businesses for global markets.
He highlighted Telangana’s growing IT and GCC ecosystem, noting that the state has recorded ₹3.13 lakh crore in IT exports, nearly one million IT professionals and 515 GCCs employing around three lakh people.
Jaju said Telangana is targeting five gigawatts of data-centre capacity and is working towards sovereign AI-grade computing, AI-ready datasets, subsidised GPU access and sandbox tools through the Telangana Data Exchange.
He said the state’s AI innovation entity, ICAN, aims to position Telangana among the world’s top 20 AI hubs by 2035. The initiative is expected to focus on AI-first startups, research-industry collaboration, skilling and an AI-focused fund of funds.
Jaju also highlighted the planned AI City at Bharat Future City, the expansion of GCCs, the Young India Skills University and opportunities for AI applications across sectors including life sciences, banking and financial services, aerospace, defence, space and semiconductors.
Calling for greater industry participation, he urged companies to “build here, create here, invest here,” while reaffirming the government’s role as an enabler and facilitator of AI-led growth.
Anudeep Durishetty, IAS, Joint Secretary in the ITE&C Department, said AI was evolving rapidly and that the next challenge was to convert individual productivity gains into measurable business outcomes. He identified human coordination, GCC-led product development and Telangana’s strengths in aerospace, defence and life sciences as key opportunities to take AI solutions from Telangana to global markets.
M Goutham Reddy, Chairman, CII Telangana and Executive Vice Chairman, Re Sustainability Ltd, said AI adoption was no longer a choice and stressed the need for responsible, reliable and effective implementation. He highlighted the importance of human-centric AI, skills development, intellectual property protection and business-integrated solutions.
M V Reddy, Co-Convenor, CII Telangana IT, DT & Startups Panel and Senior Vice President, Jio Platforms, said the focus should shift from AI pilots to productisation. He emphasised trusted governance, secure AI infrastructure, economic viability and innovation-led GCCs capable of developing solutions for global markets.
Sanjeev Deshpande, Convenor, CII Telangana IT, DT & Startups Panel and Chairman & Chief Strategy Officer, N Labs AI Pvt Ltd, said Telangana’s global AI ambitions would require GPU infrastructure, startup support, cybersecurity, trusted governance and globally aligned certifications. He also called for stronger collaboration between GCCs and startups and greater industry confidence in homegrown AI products.
Follow for more details: munsifdaily.com
Nilotpal Kumar Dutta, Director and Country Manager, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India, said enterprises would need to re-architect their technology infrastructure, improve data readiness and strengthen security and governance to scale AI beyond pilot projects. He identified data centres, renewable power, cooling infrastructure and skilled talent as critical requirements for AI expansion.
Dutta also called for greater collaboration among industry, startups, academia and government to develop India-focused AI solutions and sector-specific small language models.
Rajan Navani, President of the Indian Digital Gaming Society and Chairman of the CII India@100 Council, said Telangana had the talent and ecosystem required to develop into a significant global AI hub. He highlighted what he described as a $500–600 billion AI opportunity over the next five years, spanning energy, data centres, computing, language models and applications.
Navani also called for GCCs to evolve into global innovation and intelligence centres and urged closer industry-government cooperation to build AI capabilities and develop intellectual property.
Gaurav Maheshwari, Vice Chairman, CII Telangana State Council and Managing Director, Signode India Ltd, said the AI conversation should move beyond adoption towards practical, business-driven outcomes, including solutions that can be accessed by MSMEs.
He also highlighted the rapid emergence of AI agents and autonomous business processes, saying Telangana’s talent pool, academic institutions, startup ecosystem, IT sector and government support could help scale AI innovation.
The CII Telangana AI Summit 2026 concluded with discussions on AI adoption, digital transformation, talent, innovation and responsible AI, with stakeholders focusing on building a globally competitive and future-ready AI ecosystem in Telangana.
