Hyderabad: Telangana unveiled India’s first AI minister on Saturday with a pre-AGI avatar of IT and industries minister D Sridhar Babu, making its debut live on stage at the Google Developer Group (GDG) Hyderabad conference – DevFest 2026 – on Saturday.Developed on TensorGo’s HumAIn platform under the guidance of Sai Krishna, IT adviser to the minister, the AI avatar of Sridhar Babu made its appearance before more than 3,300 developers, students, engineers, architects and founders and answered queries from Gen Z participants in English and Telugu in real time.DevFest, which was held on the theme “Build, Secure, Scale: Developers and Builders in the Agentic Era,” also saw the AI minister answer queries on Telangana’s vision and technology-led growth.Telangana govt officials said Telangana’s AI minister marks a new approach to citizen engagement, demonstrating how emerging AI technologies can create new ways for people to interact with public leadership.“As Telangana works towards becoming a global AI hub, we want our young innovators to be at the centre of that journey. We have the talent and ambition; our focus is on building an ecosystem where young people can turn their ideas into solutions and take them to the world. The next big breakthrough in AI could come from a student, a startup or a young developer, and we want Telangana to be the place where those ideas get the opportunity to grow,” Sridhar Babu said.Sai Krishna said the launch marked the first phase of a wider plan in which the AI avatar, which is a digital twin of the minister, will help the minister reach more people and gain deeper insights into governance and issues being faced by citizens at the grassroots level.In the next phase, citizens would be able to interact with the AI minister, submit feedback and raise grievances, which, Sai Krishna said, is the need of the hour.DevFest 2026 featured hands-on learning sessions led by over 30 industry experts, alongside interactive experiences designed to connect talent with industry. The event included an Experience Zone with NFC-enabled badges for sharing digital resumes, and sustainability measures including reusable water bottles and no single-use plastics.