While other states were planning to utilize AI, Uttar Pradesh went ahead and planned to establish India’s First AI City in Lucknow, led by the UP Electronic Corporation Ltd.

The AI City imagined envisions an integrated hub of cutting-edge technology. Research Institutions, educational centers, and real estate developers are invited to champion this transformative venture through an expression of interest against the backdrop of a thriving Global AI Market. The city aims to be a dynamic 

Innovation Hub nurturing the future workforce, government support including 40 acres of land, and financial incentives aligned with UP’s economic goals. The Modi government is committed to AI Advancement in India. India recently hosted the global partnership AI summit where PM Modi emphasized the use cases of AI for every initiative, thus encouraging skill development and ethical use of AI.

Research

According to a research report conducted by Grand View Research, the Global AI Market size reached $137B in 2022 and is now projected to reach an annual compound growth rate of 37.3 % between the years 2023 and 2030.

Lucknow has proactively built Centers of Excellence in technology areas like Artificial Intelligence and MedTech and now supports more than 15 AI/ML startups while also nurturing and grooming the culture of entrepreneurship and creativity.

What the UP Government is planning to do?

The UPECL is on the lookout for real-estate developers specializing in IT Park and IT city development to develop, maintain, and operate the AI City.

Responsibilities of the Real estate developers

  • Strategize a genius plan for the AI city
  • Delivering an operating model
  • Construct a dedicated zone for AI testing and prototyping facilities along with special space for research centers and top technology educational institutions
  • Invent cognitive buildings equipped with AI-driven climate management, lighting, and energy management systems
  • Operation and supervision of the AI City and its allied infrastructure
  • Earmark/Development land for setting up of Data Center facilities and other technology infrastructure
  • Lure anchor investors in the technology and AI space.

Government’s Support

The Government will provide special support to fulfill the Goal of developing the AI city project by providing 40 acres of land at a Prime Location in the Nadarganj Industrial Area, which is completely free from encumbrances and supports the land acquisition, zoning regulation, and other relevant clearances.

Financial Support

  • Provide developers with financial Incentives i.e, One- time Capex support of 25%
  • INR 20 crore for IT Park
  • INR 100 Cr for IT City
  • 100% Stamp Duty Exemption according to IT and ITeS Policy.

Key Pointers in the EoI

The Nodal agency for the project, UP Electronics Corporation LTD, mentioned in the Expression of Interest

  • AI City should comprise a combination of Luxury and Affordable housing complexes along with a walk-to-work model.
  • A designated space for Top engineering and Management Institutions to promote industry-academic collaboration.
  • AI-enabled Internal Modes of Transportation.

UP Government’s main Goal

To Undertake a Journey to pursue a $1 Trillion economy in 5 years.

To accomplish this, IT and ITeS have been recognized as the core sectors to succeed in this economic Goal.

Governments Plan

Along with this, The Government of India plans to develop 3 CoEs that will specifically focus on multidisciplinary research in AI and the development and adoption of indigenous AI technologies in various sectors.

Why Does this Matter?

December 6, 2023, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MoS (The Minster of State) for IT, in response to a parliamentary question that multiple central and state government departments and agencies have contributed to standardizing responsible AI development and acknowledge the ethical concerns related to the implementation of AI technology.

Upon syncing with the latest global trends, the Indian Government, along with the State Governments, has been showing a keen interest in using AI for governance-related facilities across multiple sectors.

Did you know?

UP happens to be the 6th largest state in aspects of the IT Ecosystem and is also home to the highest number of startups in India.

Roadmap of Development

The Roadmap prepared by the UP Government has been categorized into 5 segments.

  • Developing Infrastructure
  • Offering support to Startups
  • Establishing AI Industry

Data Analytics

Providing Skilled Manpower

Principal secretary of the Industries and IT department, Narendra Bhoosan, said, “We have already started moving ahead on this front. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (ML) are evolving as attractive employment options for IT graduates. We have partnered with IIT Kanpur and are working closely to translate things on the ground.”

With this, we end our Blog, Hope we were able to give you a brief insight into the latest happenings about the UP’s AI City.