Bengaluru: With artificial intelligence increasingly seeping into governance across the country, the state’s power sector could also use it to its full potential. By 2047, Karnataka aims to run its grid operations fully based on AI-based predictions. In every asset, distribution and transformer, it will be visible within minutes for things that used to take weeks, said Gaurav Gupta, additional chief secretary, energy department, Saturday.
Speaking at PanIIT Bangalore Summit 2026, Gupta said integrating AI into governance is an area where the state’s startups and academia can jointly work together. Stressing on the importance of forecast-based power governance, he said the state is witnessing significant increase in requirement every year.
Additionally, Gupta said, the department could have a digital twin for the energy sector in future similar to the ones used by Bengaluru traffic police. Digital twins will assist in power management banking on data-based simulations and forecasts.
India at a Fork, Not in Crisis
Amid the ongoing global fuel and energy uncertainty, chief economic adviser V Anantha Nageswaran Saturday said the country stands “at a fork, and not a crisis,” and urged India to act with urgency, strategic clarity and institutional confidence to secure its place in a rapidly changing world order. Speaking at the summit, Nageswaran described the current phase as a defining moment in India’s economic and geopolitical journey. “India’s potential is not a given. It must be claimed deliberately,” he said, stressing the country’s future will depend not merely on governments, but on the collective choices made by citizens, industries and institutions.
The summit highlighted the transformative role of AI in governance, particularly in the power sector, and the need for collaborative efforts between startups and academia. The digital twin concept, already used by Bengaluru traffic police, could revolutionize power management through data-driven simulations and forecasts. As India navigates global uncertainties, experts emphasize strategic clarity and institutional confidence to harness its potential.
