The Uttar Pradesh state of India has entered into an agreement with Puch AI, an India based AI powered personal assistant, to introduce artificial intelligence infrastructure in the country’s most populous state.
On Monday, the Uttar Pradesh (U.P) state government and Puch AI signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth ₹25,000 Crore to bring “AI Parks, large-scale data center infrastructure, AI Commons, and an AI University to the state”.
Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of UP, termed the MoU as a landmark moment for the state, which has a population of 240 million.
“This initiative will strengthen governance, drive innovation, and create future-ready opportunities for our youth,” said CM Adityanath in a post on X.
New Uttar Pradesh is embracing the power of Artificial Intelligence.
A ₹25,000 Crore MoU with Puch AI will bring AI Parks, large-scale data center infrastructure, AI Commons, and an AI University to the state.
This initiative will strengthen governance, drive innovation, and…
— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) March 23, 2026
Till now, the UP government has not provided any roadmap to how the implementation of the MoU will play out nor it has provided any details on the funds allocation part. Puch AI is a Bengaluru startup founded in June 2025, operating through WhatsApp and a phone number, with no disclosed external funding.
Commenting on the development, Puch AI Co-Founder and CEO Siddharth Bhatia said, “UP Government and Puch AI have signed a ₹25,000 crore MoU to make Uttar Pradesh India’s first AI Pradesh. The partnership will establish AI Parks powered by large-scale data center infrastructure to make businesses AI-enabled, AI Commons for citizen and governance applications, and an AI University to upskill both students and working professionals.”
The partnership will focus on building a robust AI ecosystem across the state. Key components of the initiative include the development of advanced AI Parks, supported by large-scale data center infrastructure, which will enable businesses to integrate AI into their operations.
In addition, an AI Commons platform will be created to support citizen services and governance applications, making public systems more efficient and accessible.
A significant highlight of the project is the establishment of a dedicated AI University. This institution will aim to equip students as well as working professionals with cutting-edge skills in artificial intelligence, helping to prepare a future-ready workforce.
Commenting on the MoU, Sagari Gupta, an India based AI Policy researcher said, “Puch AI has no disclosed external funding. The ambition in the MoU far outpaces the company’s current scale, and that gap raises a governance question that has not been asked publicly: what accountability mechanisms, timelines, and penalty clauses are written into the agreement? India has a long record of infrastructure MoUs that generate announcements without generating built capacity. The people of UP need transparency on the terms before the ₹25,000 crore figure becomes a liability rather than a milestone.”
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