Maharashtra forms AI governance committee for higher education
Synopsis
Maharashtra has gone beyond buzzwords — it has set up a formal, 10-member AI governance committee inside its Higher and Technical Education Department, with a three-year mandate, quarterly accountability reports and a technology brief that stretches from Generative AI to Anomaly Detection. It is one of the most structured state-level AI oversight frameworks in Indian education to date.
Key Takeaways
Maharashtra's Higher and Technical Education Department constituted the AI, Data Analytics and Dashboard Governance Committee on 21 September 2026 .
Prof Rajnish Kamat , Vice-Chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur , chairs the panel.
The committee will oversee deployment of technologies including Generative AI , ML , NLP , OCR and Anomaly Detection across state education platforms.
It will standardise data across platforms such as MahaDBT , AISHE , e-Office and Sevarth .
The panel will meet at least once every quarter and submit progress reports to the department's principal secretary; it is constituted for an initial three-year term .
Members will serve without additional honoraria; expenditure will come from existing budgetary allocations.
The Higher and Technical Education Department of Maharashtra on Monday, 21 September 2026, constituted a high-level 'AI, Data Analytics and Dashboard Governance Committee' to embed artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and automated decision-support systems across the state's higher education institutions. The move, formalised through a Government Resolution (GR) issued late Monday evening, is being positioned as a structural upgrade to how the state manages and acts on educational data.
Who Leads the Committee
Prof Rajnish Kamat, Vice-Chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, has been appointed to head the panel. The committee draws together senior administrators, technical experts and systems analysts from across Maharashtra's educational apparatus.
Members include Shrikant Pulkundwar (Joint Secretary, Higher and Technical Education Department), Pratap Lubal (Joint Secretary), Ashok Mande (Deputy Secretary), Amol Mutyal (Deputy Secretary), Umesh Kokate (System Manager, Directorate of Technical Education, Mumbai), Narendra Patil (System Analyst, Directorate of Technical Education, Mumbai), Swapnil Korade (Statistical Officer, Directorate of Higher Education, Mumbai) and Kunal Patil (Special Executive Officer, Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education, Mumbai). Prashant Visalkar (Project Manager, Directorate of Higher Education, Mumbai) will serve as Member Secretary.
Key Responsibilities and Technology Scope
At its core, the committee is tasked with transforming the state's existing Dashboard Portal — which currently aggregates data across student enrolments, examinations, university affiliations, scholarships, public libraries and research journals — from a basic reporting tool into an evidence-based decision-support platform.
The panel's mandate spans a wide technology stack: it will explore deployment of Generative AI, Agentic AI, Machine Learning (ML), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Computer Vision, Anomaly Detection and Natural Language Processing (NLP). It will also work on standardising data classification, metadata and interoperability across state platforms including e-Office, MahaDBT, AISHE, the NOC Portal, MIS and Sevarth.
Additional responsibilities include formulating long-term AI strategies, establishing feasibility and risk frameworks, and developing automated trend analysis and real-time decision-support modules for state leadership. This comes amid a broader national push aligned with National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and Maharashtra's own IT and cybersecurity directives.
Governance, Oversight and Compliance
The committee is required to meet at least once every three months, with quarterly progress reports submitted to the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of the Higher and Technical Education Department. External subject matter experts and technology institution representatives may be invited as special attendees.
The panel may also constitute specialised Technical Working Groups or Sub-Committees for focused domains such as Cyber Security, Cloud Infrastructure and Analytics. Strict compliance with cybersecurity norms, data privacy regulations, personal data protection laws and ethical AI principles has been mandated.
Financial and Administrative Arrangements
The committee has been initially constituted for a three-year term and will function as a regular administrative body. Members will receive no additional honoraria or allowances. Approved expenditure will be funded through existing budgetary allocations under standard financial rules. Final authority over policy implementation, financial procurement, system integrations and data sharing will remain with the Government of Maharashtra.
Notably, this initiative marks one of the more detailed AI governance frameworks established at the state education department level in India — a signal that Maharashtra is moving beyond pilot projects toward institutionalising AI oversight. How the committee translates its broad mandate into measurable outcomes over its three-year term will be closely watched by education policymakers across the country.
Point of View
Defined membership, a three-year mandate and a quarterly reporting line to a principal secretary. That level of structural seriousness is rare at the state education department level in India. The harder question is whether a committee that meets once a quarter can keep pace with AI's rate of change; the mandate covers everything from Generative AI to Anomaly Detection, which risks dilution without tighter prioritisation. The absence of any independent academic or civil society voice on the committee — dominated as it is by government officials — also raises questions about how 'ethical AI' commitments will be independently verified.
NationPress
21 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Maharashtra's AI and Data Analytics Governance Committee for higher education?
It is a high-level panel constituted by Maharashtra's Higher and Technical Education Department on 21 September 2026 to embed AI, predictive analytics and automated decision-support systems across the state's higher education institutions. The committee is chaired by Prof Rajnish Kamat, Vice-Chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, and has a three-year mandate.
Who are the members of the Maharashtra AI governance committee?
The committee is headed by Prof Rajnish Kamat and includes senior officials such as Joint Secretaries Shrikant Pulkundwar and Pratap Lubal, Deputy Secretaries Ashok Mande and Amol Mutyal, and technical experts from the Directorates of Technical and Higher Education. Prashant Visalkar serves as Member Secretary.
What technologies will the committee work on?
The committee will explore Generative AI, Agentic AI, Machine Learning, Optical Character Recognition, Computer Vision, Anomaly Detection and Natural Language Processing. It will also work to standardise data and interoperability across state platforms including MahaDBT, AISHE, e-Office and Sevarth.
How will the committee be held accountable?
The committee is required to meet at least once every three months and submit quarterly progress reports to the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary of the Higher and Technical Education Department. Final policy, financial and data-sharing approvals rest with the Government of Maharashtra.
How is this initiative linked to NEP 2020?
The Government Resolution constituting the committee explicitly aligns the initiative with the National Education Policy 2020 and Maharashtra's state-level IT and cybersecurity directives. NEP 2020 advocates data-driven governance and technology integration across educational institutions.
