Plan to Develop 75 Villages as ‘Smart Villages’ in Maharashtra – IT Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar

Special initiatives to mark Seva Fortnight

Mumbai, Sept 2025 : Maharashtra IT Minister Adv. Ashish Shelar has directed that plans be prepared to develop 75 villages in the state as ‘Smart Villages’ by leveraging advanced technology, high-speed internet, Wi-Fi, and the use of artificial intelligence in various processes.

Marking Seva Fortnight (September 17 – October 2, 2025), Shelar also instructed the Information Technology Department and the Department of Cultural Affairs to implement the @75 initiative by organizing various people-centric activities.

The directives were given during a meeting chaired by Minister Shelar at Mantralaya, attended by Principal Secretary (IT) Parag Jain-Nainutia, Film City’s Managing Director Smt. Swati Mhase-Patil, and other senior officials.

Minister Shelar emphasized that the new generation must not only access technology-driven platforms but also receive proper training, and the IT Department should take action accordingly.

As part of Seva Fortnight, Film City will host a cleanliness drive, blood donation camps, interactive sessions with artists and differently-abled artists, health centers, and tree plantation programs. Additionally, in celebration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 75th birthday, various greeting cards will be designed.

The Cultural Affairs Department has been asked to organize a wide range of unique programs such as book releases, exhibitions, painting competitions, essay and elocution contests, art competitions, and discussions with folk artists like Tamasha performers. Shelar also highlighted the need to preserve and showcase traditional instruments that are on the verge of extinction.

Furthermore, he noted that 11 forts in Maharashtra and the Gingee Fort have been included in UNESCO’s tentative heritage list. Virtual and augmented reality experiences of these forts should be developed, along with cleanliness campaigns at 75 heritage sites.

The minister also instructed that a coffee table book of photographs of Prime Minister Modi’s birthplace, Vadnagar, should be published in Marathi. Similarly, exhibitions should be organized on key milestones in the lives of Mahatma Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Shastri.