CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu has placed artificial intelligence (AI) at the centre of its industrial and governance strategy by swearing in a minister dedicated to the sector – potentially making it one of the few states to move towards a standalone AI Ministry.
The swearing-in of Velachery MLA R Kumar as Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology and Digital Services marks the first concrete step towards implementing the TVK’s ambitious election promise to institutionalise AI governance across the state.
In its manifesto, the party had proposed the creation of a separate AI Ministry alongside a sweeping plan to embed AI officers across government departments, build a state-owned GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) computing cluster for start-ups and MSMEs, and establish an AI-focused smart city named “Arivagam”.
Sources told TNIE that the government is considering a dedicated budgetary allocation for AI, although officials in the finance ministry are yet to confirm the proposal. It is learnt that, in line with the manifesto, every government department could appoint a “Chief AI Officer” tasked with driving automation, data integration and AI-led public service delivery.
Purushothaman K, former director of NASSCOM and Head of Government Affairs (States) at Cognizant Technology Solutions, said: “With nearly 1.2 million people directly employed in the IT industry, the decision to establish an AI ministry and position Tamil Nadu as an AI destination is an important step by the state government.”
The initiative comes at a time when states are increasingly competing to attract semiconductor, electronics and deep-tech investments. Tamil Nadu already hosts one of India’s largest electronics and automobile manufacturing ecosystems, and sources said the next phase of competition would hinge on computing infrastructure, AI talent and access to high-performance chips.
Responding to queries from TNIE on the state’s AI push, an official close to the minister said it was too early to comment in detail. However, the focus would remain aligned with the poll manifesto, he added.
The manifesto had also proposed the creation of “Arivagam”, an AI-centric urban cluster housing an AI university, an international skill development centre, semiconductor hardware testing labs and residential infrastructure. The Kerala government has already announced a similar dedicated ministry focusing on AI.
