Telangana unveils first State-led digital public infrastructure for AI

Telangana Data Exchange (TGDeX), a first-of-its-kind State platform to address challenges in AI innovation such as lack of access to clean, usable datasets, subsidised compute infrastructure and institutional pathways to scale beyond proof-of-concept was launched on Wednesday by IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu.

Developed by the Emerging Technologies Wing of the State’s IT department with strategic support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the JICA DXLab, Boston Consulting Group and the Center of Data for Public Good, IISc Bangalore, TGDeX seeks to lay the ground for a single secure, scalable environment supporting innovation. Ecosystem enablers such as T-Hub and Telangana AI Mission (T-AIM) are also involved in providing value added services such as mentorship and access to markets and funding through ‘Grand Challenges’, the IT department said in a release on the launch event.

“We are building a digital bridge connecting data to decision making and bridging talent to opportunity. With TGDeX, we are launching a national blueprint for inclusive AI infrastructure,” Mr. Sridhar Babu said.

IT and Industries Secretary Sanjay Kumar said, “With TGDeX, we are enabling a future where a startup in Adilabad can access the same AI-building resources as someone in Hyderabad. We have more than 20 (government) departments on board already and aim to have all departments contribute to TGDeX in the next few months.

A joint White Paper brought out by the State government and JICA outlining the TGDeX journey and lessons for other States was launched. JICA India Chief Representative Takeuchi Takuro reaffirmed JICA’s commitment to Telangana and to India’s broader AI and innovation journey. This White Paper aims to serve as a blueprint for how States and other countries in the Global South can build similar platforms tailored to local needs.

Six winners of the Telangana AI Rising Grand Challenge, a pre-launch initiative that received over 420 proposals from 240 startups across the country, were felicitated. TGDeX is live and accessible at https://tgdex.telangana.gov.in. The platform houses over 500 datasets contributed by several State departments and aims to host datasets from private enterprises and academic institutions in the future.