How AI helped promote community-led development in Rajasthan
The authors designed a pilot project, called AI4WaterPolicy, in the water-stressed Sirohi and Pali districts of Rajasthan. And rather than deploy AI to push information outwards, the project used it to listen.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
India is in an artificial intelligence (AI) moment. Across agriculture, health, finance, and governance, the race is on to deploy AI-enabled services that reach the last mile. Chatbots answer farmer queries. Agentic tools navigate entitlement schemes. And advisory platforms push the right information to the right person (presumably) at the right time.
Many of these tools share a similar logic. While exceptions exist, they are often designed around the assumption that communities have an information deficit that AI can fill. But what if that’s not all communities need?
Published – April 27, 2026 07:30 am IST
