Ankit Patel
ankitpateliimc@gmail.com
On an October morning in Pampore, the air was heavy with the scent of freshly bloomed saffron flowers. For generations, this moment defined the most fragile phase of Kashmir’s most precious crop. Every flower had to be plucked by hand, every crimson stigma separated manually by painstaking work done against the clock before the sun rose too high.
Today, the scene has subtly changed. At one corner of the field, an AI-enabled smart harvester hums softly. Developed through research at Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir with support from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the machine automates stigma separation with precision that human hands often struggle to maintain. For the farmer using it, this is not just technology it is survival. This quiet transformation in Pampore mirrors a much larger, deeper shift underway across Jammu and Kashmir: the emergence of Artificial Intelligence as a tool not only of governance and security, but of everyday livelihood.
For decades, Jammu and Kashmir’s public narrative revolved around conflict, instability, and administrative disruption. Yet between 2010 and 2026, another story unfolded slower, quieter, but profound. What began as basic digitisation of records has evolved into one of India’s most intensive deployments of AI-driven governance, security infrastructure, and socio-economic systems. In the early 2010s, digital governance in the region meant little more than scanned files and rudimentary online services. The rollout of the State Wide Area Network and Common Service Centres (CSCs) was meant to bridge geographical isolation, especially in mountainous and snowbound areas. By 2011, over 1,100 CSCs were mandated across the region. Connectivity failures, harsh terrain, and frequent internet disruptions, however, limited their impact.
Digital infrastructure was expanding even as internet shutdowns between 2012 and 2019 crippled its usability. The 2016 unrest following the killing of Burhan Wani led to a four-month suspension of mobile internet, decimating small digital enterprises. The now-famous “Internet Express” daily train journeys from Srinagar to Banihal just to access the web became a symbol of this fragile digital economy.
The reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir into a Union Territory in 2019 marked a decisive technological turn. Central digital governance frameworks were extended rapidly, culminating in the 2020 IT/ITES Policy and the broader “Digital J&K” mission.
By 2024-25, the scale of digital adoption was unprecedented. The Union Territory recorded over 82 crore e-transactions, delivered more than 1,500 online services, and integrated 128 services with DigiLocker, eliminating the need for physical documents. Direct Benefit Transfer mechanisms disbursed ?9,000 crore to nearly 80 lakh beneficiaries, sharply reducing leakages. GST revenues rose to ?8,586 crore, reflecting deeper formalisation of the economy.
This digital push was not limited to citizens. In 2024, the General Administration Department mandated that all government employees complete courses in AI and cybersecurity under Mission Karmayogi by January 2026, signalling a shift towards an AI-literate bureaucracy.
Smart Cities, Smarter Control
Nowhere is AI more visible than in Srinagar and Jammu under the Smart City Mission. Integrated Command and Control Centres (ICCCs) act as urban nerve centres, managing everything from traffic to disaster response. In Srinagar, over 1,000 AI-enabled surveillance cameras feed into systems using Automatic Number Plate Recognition and predictive traffic analytics. Signals adapt dynamically, congestion is anticipated, and e-challans are generated automatically. Emergency response times have dropped, intersections are less chaotic, and civic coordination has improved. Jammu’s Smart City infrastructure places heavier emphasis on public safety. AI systems detect suspicious gatherings, abandoned objects, loitering, and even civic violations such as littering.
The most sophisticated use of AI in Jammu and Kashmir lies in policing and counter-terror operations. Between 2024 and 2026, an AI-enabled security grid was operationalised, integrating facial recognition technology, forensic AI, GPS tracking anklets for high-risk accused persons, and drone surveillance. Facial recognition systems deployed at transport hubs cross-reference databases of over 10,000 individuals, while AI-driven forensic tools reduce investigation timelines from weeks to hours. Drones equipped with AI distinguish between human movement and wildlife in rugged terrain, minimising false alarms along borders. Authorities argue this “intelligent policing” has strengthened security outcomes. Civil liberties groups, however, warn that Jammu and Kashmir risks becoming a testing ground for mass surveillance without adequate legal safeguards.
For the Pampore farmer using an AI-driven stigma separator, the benefit is tangible: lower labour costs, consistent quality, and higher export value. Through Kissan Khidmat Ghars, even farmers with limited literacy can access these tools with assisted support.
In healthcare, AI has become a bridge across mountains. AIIMS Jammu has positioned itself as a global centre for AI-driven predictive and precision medicine, using algorithms to improve oncology outcomes and streamline patient navigation. Satellite-enabled telemedicine links remote regions such as Gurez and Kishtwar to super-specialty care. Documented cases of telesurgery illustrate how AI and connectivity have effectively “flattened” geography, offering remote patients access to expertise once confined to cities.
From the saffron fields of Pampore to AI-powered control rooms in Srinagar, artificial intelligence in Jammu and Kashmir is not a single story, it is a mosaic. It has enabled efficiency, security, and economic resilience, while simultaneously raising questions about privacy and power.
(The writer is pursuing journalism at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Jammu)
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