The Chief Minister's Office of Maharashtra announced on Wednesday, 25 June 2026, that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis chaired a high-level meeting at Vidhan Bhavan, Mumbai, where the state government launched multiple digital governance initiatives spanning artificial intelligence, direct benefit transfers, and citizen service infrastructure. The official post stated: 'कृत्रिम बुद्धिमत्ता आणि डिजिटल नवोपक्रमांच्या माध्यमातून लोकाभिमुख, पारदर्शक आणि सक्षम प्रशासन' — 'People-centric, transparent and capable governance through artificial intelligence and digital innovations.' Four major projects were formally launched: MahDBT 2.0, Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendra Standardisation, the Digital Life Certificate System, and the Maha AI Project.

Context

The meeting brought together the state's electronics, information technology, and artificial intelligence departments alongside officials from the National Informatics Centre (NIC). Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Ajit Pawar and Minister Ashish Shelar were present at the launch. CM Fadnavis described the initiatives as not merely technical upgrades but as 'effective tools to increase people-centricity, transparency, and accountability in governance.' The CM emphasised the integrated data pool built under Mahasarathi, saying it would help 'not only in delivering government schemes to citizens, but also in planning future schemes and implementing them in a targeted manner.' He added that the system would eliminate duplication of beneficiaries, detect misuse of schemes, and ensure eligible citizens receive benefits without obstacles.

Policy Backdrop

India's national Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) framework, launched in 2013, introduced Aadhaar-linked welfare delivery to reduce leakages. Maharashtra built on this with its earlier Aaple Sarkar portal, creating a single-window citizen service network. MahDBT 2.0, developed by the state's Electronics, IT and AI department, consolidates all DBT schemes onto a single portal with a single sign-on, dashboard, and data analytics. Crucially, application form fields have been reduced from 138 to 66, with government data pools auto-populating forms to save citizens time and effort. The CM directed all state departments to migrate their schemes to MahDBT 2.0 within a fixed deadline. He noted that the new DBT system had already improved transparency in scholarship schemes and prevented significant financial loss to the government. 'Once all schemes are on DBT, benefits will reach eligible citizens directly and corruption will be checked,' he said.

Stakeholders and Impact

The Digital Life Certificate System, developed by NIC in collaboration with the Social Justice Department, directly benefits senior citizens, pensioners, and persons with disabilities. Beneficiaries will no longer need to visit government offices repeatedly to submit life certificates; the system enables paperless, real-time verification from home, reducing delays in scheme disbursements. The state's 31,000-plus Aaple Sarkar Seva Kendras will be standardised under a new quality framework with uniform branding and service benchmarks. A new 'Smart Aaple Seva Kendra' rating will be introduced, with awards at state, divisional, and district levels. More than 350 centres will be recognised annually to create a competitive environment for service quality improvement. The Maha AI model, co-developed by the state government and NIC, is described as a 'Maharashtra Hub for Advanced Artificial Intelligence' — a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country. CM Fadnavis called data 'the new gold and new oil,' arguing that government data must be processed through a sovereign AI model. He said an AI system trained on its own data would protect the state against future cyber and information security threats, while making administration more responsive and decision-making faster.

What's Next

The CM expressed confidence that as agentic AI adoption grows, citizen-facing processes will become even faster and simpler. The immediate priority is ensuring all departments migrate to MahDBT 2.0 within mandated timelines and that officials and employees adopt these systems in their regular workflows. Maharashtra's push to build a sovereign AI model trained on state data signals a broader ambition: to anchor evidence-based policymaking and cybersecurity resilience in a single integrated digital architecture. If the rollout meets its targets, the state could set a replicable model for AI-driven governance across India.