Bengaluru, Apr 11: IIIT-Bangalore has been nominated as one of the Lead Knowledge Institutions (LKIs) of NITI Aayog under the State Support Mission (SSM). The inauguration marking IIIT-Bangalore’s role as one of the LKIs was held on April 10, 2026 at IIIT-Bangalore.
Prof. Debabrata Das welcomed the dignitaries on behalf of the institute. IIIT-Bangalore, as one of the Lead Knowledge Institutions, was formally inaugurated by the Chief Guest, K. S. Rejimon, Joint Secretary and Mission Director – State Support Mission, NITI Aayog.
S. Kalal, Director – State Support Mission, NITI Aayog, elaborated on the vision and objectives of the initiative and the broader mandate of NITI Aayog. He also welcomed IIIT-Bangalore as one of the Lead Knowledge Institutions under the State Support Mission.
The State Support Mission is an umbrella initiative by NITI Aayog aimed at fostering structured and institutionalised engagement with States and Union Territories. Its primary objective is to support them in achieving their socioeconomic goals by 2047. The mission is strategically designed to assist States and UTs in developing data-driven roadmaps aligned with national priorities and their unique strengths.
As one of the Lead Knowledge Institutions, IIIT-Bangalore will contribute to building capabilities in evidence-based policymaking, leveraging its expertise in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence to support governance and development outcomes.
“LKIs are collaborating with States in critical areas such as governance reforms, sectoral strategies, innovation frameworks and capacity building. Collaborations between Lead Knowledge Institutions, States and NITI Aayog, will mobilize domain expertise bringing to the fore their complementing competencies for achieving larger socio-economic growth objectives” said Mr. K. S. Rejimon, Joint Secretary & Mission Director – State Support Mission, NITI Aayog
“Today’s event is important as it reflects a shift towards more structured partnerships between government and knowledge institutions.Another important aspect is the need to build a wider ecosystem. Knowledge institutions can play a role in connecting academia, students and practitioners with public policy challenges. This helps in bringing new ideas and practical solutions into governance” said Mr. S. Kalal, Director – State Support Mission, NITI Aayog
“The inauguration of IIIT-Bangalore as a Lead Knowledge Institute under NITI Aayog’s State Support Mission marks a critical step in bridging the gap between computational research and impactful public policy. As Data Science and AI researchers, we are uniquely positioned to tackle complex, large-scale challenges to support governance frameworks driven by evidence and data-driven interventions.
Central to this research mission is the development of an intervention science for complex systems. Societal systems are often characterized by intricate interdependencies where a single change can trigger cascading side-effects or unexpected trade-offs. Our work goes beyond traditional predictive modeling; we are building the frameworks to represent, reason about, and model the stability of these interventions, ensuring that our technical support translates into sustained, positive outcomes for the State Support Mission.” said Prof. Srinath Srinivasa, Dean R&D, IIIT-Bangalore.
“At IIIT-Bangalore, we believe that technology can play a transformative role in governance. IIIT Bangalore being a Lead Knowledge Institution with NITI Aayog’s State Support Mission, we are committed to supporting states through data-driven policy research and advanced analytics. By leveraging our expertise in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, we aim to enable possible actionable insights and contribute to inclusive and sustainable development,” said Prof. Debabrata Das, Director, IIIT-Bangalore.
The inauguration marks an important milestone in IIIT-Bangalore’s role as a Lead Knowledge Institution under the State Support Mission of NITI Aayog, reinforcing its commitment to supporting data-driven and evidence-based governance.
