Maharashtra ACS Ashwini Bhide Shares Son’s Interaction With PM At AI Startup Roundtable

Maharashtra Additional Chief Secretary Ashwini Bhide on Friday shared that her son, Malhar Bhide, co-founder of AI startup Origin Bio, was invited to participate in a CEO roundtable with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Prime Minister’s Office.

In a post on X, Ashwini Bhide said Origin Bio, founded by Malhar along with Yash Rathod, focuses on developing artificial intelligence solutions for safer cell and gene therapies. She noted that Malhar had the opportunity to speak with the Prime Minister and explain the startup’s potential role in advancing cancer treatment and contributing to a healthier India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held the roundtable with CEOs of AI and deeptech startups at Seva Teerth. The participating companies are working on population-scale challenges across sectors including healthcare, agriculture, cybersecurity, space and social empowerment.

In healthcare, startups are deploying AI for advanced diagnostics, gene therapy and improved patient record management to enhance last-mile service delivery. Other ventures are using geospatial intelligence and climate-focused tools to improve agricultural productivity and manage environmental risks.

The Prime Minister congratulated innovators for building impactful solutions and encouraged the development of AI tools tailored to India’s needs. He emphasised strong data governance, the importance of Indian languages in AI applications and trust in domestic technology platforms.

Startups at the meeting praised India’s expanding AI ecosystem and highlighted the country’s growing influence in global AI innovation and deployment.