Experts
About the Event
On February 9, 2026, the V.O. Chidambaranar Port Authority (VOCPA), in strategic collaboration with the Institute for Governance, Policies & Politics (IGPP), convened a landmark consultation to define the trajectory of Artificial Intelligence in India’s maritime sector. Functioning as the official Pre-Event for the India AI Impact Summit 2026, titled ‘AI in Ports and Maritime Operations: Practice, Policy and Future’. The discussion moved beyond the conventional discourse of ‘digitization’ to address the structural imperatives of ‘Institutional Intelligence.’ Against the backdrop of the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, the event brought together a high-level ecosystem of policymakers (MoPSW), infrastructure giants (RailTel), academic pioneers (IIT Madras, IMU), and technology leaders (CoRover AI, TuTr Hyperloop) to stress-test the sector's readiness for a digital paradigm shift.
The central resolution of the event was the necessity to transition from the static concept of ‘Smart Ports’, which merely monitor data through sensors and dashboards, to ‘Thinking Ports.’ This new architectural paradigm defines ports as anticipatory systems capable of predicting bottlenecks, optimizing resource allocation, and detecting operational anomalies before they occur. The consensus established that AI must not be treated as a mere technological upgrade, but as a ‘systems capability’ that redefines governance, safety, and national supply chain resilience.
Key Thematic Outcomes:
1. Policy and Practice (The Operational Now)
2. Future of Maritime Tech Infrastructure (The Hardware)
3. Human-AI Synergy (The Workforce)