Telangana’s IT and Industries Minister D. Sridhar Babu appeared in digital form at Hyderabad’s DevFest 2026 on 24 October, when organisers demonstrated an AI avatar designed to answer questions about the state’s technology ambitions in English and Telugu.
The avatar was developed by Hyderabad-based TensorGo using its HumAIn platform, under the guidance of Sai Krishna, the minister’s IT adviser, according to reports from the event. It made its first live on-stage appearance before a gathering of more than 3,000 developers, students and technology professionals.
Important distinction: “AI Minister” is a label used for the digital avatar, not a new constitutional post or an autonomous government decision-maker. The demonstration showed a conversational interface; it did not establish that the avatar can independently make policy decisions or deliver official services.
What did the AI avatar do at DevFest?
During the demonstration, the avatar responded to questions from young attendees in English and Telugu about Telangana’s vision and technology-led growth. Sridhar Babu also addressed the conference virtually with a keynote on “Innovation at Scale”.
DevFest Hyderabad, organised by Google Developer Group Hyderabad, brought together developers for sessions on artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud computing, DevOps, cybersecurity and Android. The event’s official website listed more than 30 speakers and four technical tracks.
Who developed the AI avatar?
Event coverage identifies TensorGo as the developer, using its HumAIn platform. The company describes HumAIn as a platform for interactive AI teammates that can communicate in multiple languages. Those are the company’s product descriptions; the public demonstration at DevFest does not, by itself, independently validate every capability advertised for the wider platform.
The project was developed under the guidance of Sai Krishna, IT adviser to the minister, according to reporting from the event. Organisers presented the avatar as an experiment in making information about government priorities more accessible and creating another way for citizens to engage with public leadership.
Will people be able to use it to contact the government?
Reports quoting organisers say a future phase is envisaged in which people could interact more widely with the system, including sharing feedback or submitting grievances. However, a public launch date, access method, privacy policy, escalation process and the official status of any grievance submitted through the avatar were not established in the event coverage reviewed for this report.
Those details will matter if the demonstration becomes a public-facing service. Citizens should continue using established government channels for official requests until the state announces and documents a verified service route.
What does the project mean for Telangana’s AI ambitions?
The avatar is a local example of how conversational AI might be used in public communication. Its practical value will depend on the accuracy of its answers, the sources it draws on, how it handles questions it cannot answer, accessibility for people with different needs, and whether human officials remain accountable for decisions and complaints.
Telangana has already announced broader ambitions to expand AI research and adoption through initiatives including the Telangana Artificial Intelligence Innovation Hub. The avatar demonstration is a separate project and should not be confused with the hub or with a fully deployed government service.
Sources and further reading
- DevFest Hyderabad 2026 — official event website
- Moneycontrol’s report on the avatar demonstration
- Deccan Chronicle’s event report
- TensorGo’s official website
- Invest Telangana on the state’s broader digital-governance plans
Image is illustrative and does not depict the actual avatar. Photo: Ashwin Vaswani / Unsplash.
GAWAH News Desk
