Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah rides the AI wagon in record-budget; reveals new initiatives

Another budget announcement was for a ‘Personalised Self-Learning Digital Tutor Facility’. The government will develop the facility in collaboration with II, Dharwad, which will be used to teach around 12.28 lakh children from Classes 8 to 12.

The currently operational helpline of the Food and Civil Supplies Department will also get a facelift as it will be transformed into an AI-based ‘Smart Annavani’ comprising an automated grievance redressal centre, a voice chatbot and a live call transfer system. The Agriculture Department’s ‘Raitha Kare Kendra’ (Farmer Call Centre) will also be upgraded using AI technology to provide farmers with quick access to reliable information on weather, markets, agricultural technology, and departmental updates under one roof.

Other announcements include an AI and Robotics Technology Park (ART-PARK) under the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), under which a major robotics and AI campus titled “Bangalore Robotics and AI Innovation Zone (BRAINz)”  will come up in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) and Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS).

Along with this, a Centre of Excellence for Artificial Intelligence will come up at the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Raichur, at a cost of Rs 5 crore. Two additional AI Centres of Excellence will be established in collaboration with the Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms, and NASSCOM, at a cost of Rs 16 crore, according to the Karnataka Budget 2026.

Fifteen new courses with high demand and employment potential, such as AI, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Mining Engineering, and Automation Engineering, will be commenced in 11 Government Polytechnics and in Government Engineering College, Chitradurga, Siddaramaiah said in the Budget speech.