AI Beyond Apps: Building India’s Invisible Intelligence Layer
February 28, 2026 Crowne Plaza Lucknow by IHG
01
day
15+
sessions
20+
speakers
200+
attendees
Why AI Beyond Apps?
Why Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh?
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly becoming the backbone of governance, public services, and economic growth.
Uttar Pradesh - India’s most populous state and one of its fastest-growing economies is emerging as a critical frontier for AI deployment at scale.
With strong policy direction, major digital infrastructure investments, and a vision to become a USD 1 trillion economy, Uttar Pradesh is no longer a passive consumer of technology. It is actively shaping how AI is built, governed, and deployed for millions.
At the centre of this transformation is Lucknow, the administrative, policy, and innovation capital of the state.
AI Beyond Apps is being hosted in Lucknow because this is where AI policy meets real-world execution.
Key Themes & Focus Areas
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How Uttar Pradesh is embedding AI into decision-making, service delivery, and large-scale digital governance systems from the state capital, Lucknow.
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Using AI to improve learning outcomes and strengthen public healthcare delivery across Uttar Pradesh’s diverse, large-scale population.
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Applying AI to enhance productivity, resilience, and farmer decision-making across Uttar Pradesh’s large agrarian economy.
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Designing AI systems in Uttar Pradesh that are transparent, accountable, and aligned with public trust and governance frameworks.
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Building AI systems that work across languages, literacy levels, and access constraints unique to Uttar Pradesh’s population scale.
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Moving AI initiatives in UP from small pilots to state-wide deployment through policy alignment and institutional readiness.
chief guest & keynote speaker
Shri Alok Ranjan (IAS Retd.)
Former Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh
ESTEEMED SPEAKERS
Ashish Tiwari, Ips
DIG, Technical Services, Uttar Pradesh Police
Praveen Das
Lead Partnerships Manager, South Asia, Wikimedia Foundation
Akash Shukla
Lead Mentor, Google for Startups EU (EU & Africa)
A V Satish
Chief Operating Officer, Orangewood Labs
Kirti Pandey
Mission Director - OpenAgriNet, Centre for Open Societal Systems
Kashif Raza
Founder, Bitinning
Amit Mishra
Founder & CEO, Dazeinfo Media & Research
Abhishek Mishra
DevRel Engineer, Smallest AI
Hasan yaqoob
SVP Govt Affairs | STS Group & Member AI Committee, Govt of UP
Piyush Verma
CEO, Neural Defend & Forbes 30 Under 30 Honoree
Dr. Heera Lal Patel, IAS
Secretary, National Integration, Government of Uttar Pradesh
Deepanshu Singh
Head of Government Relations and Partnerships, GATI Foundation
Kanika Kishore
Senior Consultant, Deloitte
Ishan Khare
Founder, Megh Cloud
Shawrya Mehrotra
Founder, Metvy & The VC Fellowship
Rajan Luthra
Co-Founder, Metvy
Amrita Srivastava
Director Solution Engineering (Azure Cloud & AI), Microsoft
Saurabh Kishu
Founder, Youtheve Media LLC, Tech Content Curator (Dubai)
Sudhanshu Prajapati
Senior Developer Advocate, Improving
What You’ll Experience
System-Level AI Conversations
Deep dives into AI that operates behind the scenes—powering public infrastructure, governance, and large-scale service delivery rather than consumer-facing apps.
Policy–Technology Bridge
Structured conversations that connect policy intent with ground-level execution, helping participants understand how AI decisions translate into operational impact.
Practitioner-First Insights
Hear directly from people who have built, deployed, and operated AI systems at scale, including lessons learned from failures, constraints, and real-world trade-offs.
High-Signal Networking
Connect with decision-makers, system architects, researchers, and ecosystem leaders in a curated, low-noise environment designed for meaningful conversations.
India-First & Global South Context
Discussions grounded in India’s realities—multilingual data, low-bandwidth environments, scale, affordability, and inclusion are relevant to other Global South contexts.
Responsible & Trusted AI Lens
Explore governance, ethics, accountability, and trust in AI systems that directly affect citizens and public services.
Saturday, February 28, 2026Agenda at a glance
The day will start with registration, Hi-tea, followed by networking and full-day packed sessions, including opening keynotes, panel discussions, and a real-world case study showcase.
Check-In9:00am
Opening Keynotes10:00am
Panel Discussions11:00pm
Lunch Break2:00pm
Speaker Sessions3:00pm
Closing Notes5:00pm
Who Should Attend?
This event is designed for:
Government & PSU leaders
AI researchers & system architects
Startup founders & operators
Developers & student communities
NGOs & implementation partners
Policy & digital governance professionals
If you care about AI that works in the real world, this event is for you.
