Bhubaneswar: A Tech-Boot Camp on Empowering Governance through AI Capabilities was held today at the Odisha State Centre of the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Bhubaneswar, bringing together over 100 senior officers from the Government of Odisha and the Government of India.
The workshop focused on practical applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in e-Governance and citizen service delivery.
Inaugurating the event, Anu Garg, Development Commissioner-cum-Additional Chief Secretary (Planning & Convergence and Water Resources), highlighted AI’s transformative potential in simplifying administrative functions such as noting, drafting, preparing presentations, and proposal writing.
She stressed that AI could significantly enhance efficiency, innovation, and citizen-centric governance, urging officers to actively embrace emerging technologies.
Delivering the keynote address, Timothy Dkhar, DDG & State Coordinator, NIC, New Delhi, shared insights on AI applications while emphasizing the importance of legal compliance, privacy safeguards, transparency, and ethical responsibility in deploying AI tools.
The boot camp covered advanced themes including Deep Learning, Generative AI, Prompt Engineering, and Context Engineering. Demonstrations of tools like Napkin, Gamma, and NotebookLM showcased how AI can assist officers in decision-making and daily administrative tasks.
Dr. Ashok Kumar Hota, DDG & SIO, Odisha, welcomed the participants and announced that more such workshops will be organized to strengthen AI capacity within the state’s governance framework. Officers from NIC district centres also joined virtually.
On this occasion, a brochure featuring AI-powered projects and proof-of-concepts developed by NIC was released, and the newly renovated NIC Training Centre in Bhubaneswar was inaugurated to bolster digital capacity-building initiatives.
The program concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr. Pabitranand Patnaik, Additional SIO, while Jayanta Kumar Mishra, Head of Training Division, coordinated the proceedings.
