New Delhi, Feb 23 (.): Artificial Intelligence is emerging as a key driver of inclusive rural development in India, with the country’s AI governance frameworks prioritising fairness, accountability, transparency and context-specific risk mitigation to prevent exclusion and administrative harm, the Centre said in a statement on Monday.
Highlighting AI’s expanding role in decentralised administration, it noted that integration within Panchayati Raj Institutions, Digital Public Infrastructure and welfare systems is improving transparency, efficiency, planning and grassroots participation.
The statement emphasised the role of multilingual and voice-enabled platforms such as BHASHINI, BharatGen and Adi Vaani in reducing linguistic and literacy barriers, thereby expanding access to governance and services in rural and remote regions.
It further underlined that national missions, sectoral initiatives and state-led innovations, along with the India AI Impact Summit 2026, reflect a coordinated shift towards scalable and people-centric AI aligned with inclusive growth and the vision of Viksit Bharat@2047.
According to the release, AI tools are strengthening rural e-governance. SabhaSaar, an AI-enabled solution, is generating structured minutes of Gram Sabha and Panchayat meetings from audio or video inputs, improving documentation accuracy and administrative efficiency.
The Centre also highlighted progress on digital governance platforms. As per data, over 2.53 lakh Gram Panchayats, 6,409 Block Panchayats and 650 Zila Panchayats were onboarded on the eGramSwaraj platform in FY 2024–25.
Further, 2.44 lakh Gram Panchayats have prepared and uploaded Gram Panchayat Development Plans, 2.06 lakh completed online transactions under the 15th Finance Commission grants, and 2.32 lakh Gram Sabha meetings were conducted online.
AIKosh, described as a national repository of AI datasets and models, now hosts more than 7,500 datasets and 273 AI models across 20 sectors. As of February 9, 2026, the platform recorded over 69.80 lakh visits, 17,500 registered users and 5,004 model downloads, the statement said.
The release added that AI infrastructure is also supporting rural asset monitoring. BhuPRAHARI, developed by the Ministry of Rural Development in collaboration with IIT Delhi, is leveraging AI and geospatial technologies to track assets created under rural employment and livelihood missions.
In agriculture, AI-driven decision support systems are assisting farmers through weather forecasting, pest detection and crop health monitoring, contributing to risk reduction and productivity gains.
In the education sector, NCERT’s DIKSHA platform has incorporated AI-enabled features such as keyword-based video search and read-aloud tools to enhance accessibility and inclusive learning.
The statement said AI is evolving into an integrated pillar of rural transformation, augmenting human capacity, strengthening last-mile service delivery and supporting equitable development pathways.
. VK VAN SSI