In a bid to build a future-ready administrative workforce, the Odisha government has made Artificial Intelligence (AI) training mandatory for all government employees. Officials have been instructed to complete at least one AI course within the next three months.
The initiative is aimed at equipping officers with essential skills to navigate the growing impact of AI across governance and service delivery. The state is encouraging officers to undertake free online courses available on various platforms.
Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja has issued directives to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, commissioner-cum-secretaries, and district collectors. In a letter addressed to the officials, Ahuja emphasised the importance of AI literacy in alignment with the government’s broader goal of fostering a digitally proficient workforce.
“It is increasingly evident that new innovations such as AI will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of governance. AI has the potential to bring transformative changes in how government functions—from making it easy for citizens to interface with government, to predictive analysis, intelligent grievance redressal systems,
planning, and monitoring service delivery outcomes,” the letter stated.
Ahuja added that it was imperative for officers to build a working knowledge of AI principles, tools and applications.
Each department has been asked to instruct its officers to enrol in and complete at least one foundational AI course. These free online courses are designed to offer both conceptual clarity and applied perspectives.
The recommended platforms and courses include:
• iGOT Karmayogi Portal: Basic Concepts of Artificial Intelligence – Ministry of Communications, Department of Telecommunications, AI for Digital Transformation: Machine Learning and Deep Learning – Wadhwani Institute of Technology and Policy and AI in Government: Transforming Public Service Delivery – Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengalur
• AI for All – ai-for-all.in (Developed by the Ministry of Education in partnership with Intel)
• AI for Everyone – deeplearning.ai
• Elements of AI – elementsofai.com (Offered by the University of Helsinki, Finland)
Departments have also been asked to designate a nodal officer to oversee implementation, facilitate enrolment, and ensure timely compliance. “A consolidated report indicating the number of officers who have completed such courses is to be submitted to the office of the chief secretary within the stipulated period,” the letter added.
