Explained: How Maharashtra’s proposed AI tool plans to identify illegal migrants

The Maharashtra governmenthas teamed up with IIT Bombayto build an AI-based toolthat it says will help identify suspected illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya migrantsliving in the state. The plan, still under development, has already triggered a mix of political messaging, public debate, and serious questions around accuracy and rights. According to officials, the proposed system will rely on language and speech analysis. In simple terms, the AI will study how a person speaks, including accent, tone, and certain linguistic patterns, to flag individuals who may not have valid Indian documents. The tool is meant to act as a support system for authorities, not as final proof of nationality.

The project came into the spotlight after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavismentioned it while releasing the Mahayuti alliance’s BMC election manifesto. During the announcement, the chief minister repeated the government’s promise to “free Mumbai” of undocumented migrants, saying technology would play a key role in identifying them. Sources say the AI model has been under testing for some time, but is still far from perfect. Early results reportedly show an accuracy level of around 60 percent, which experts say leaves room for major errors.

The government, however, believes the system will improve as more data is fed into it and further refinements are made. Not everyone is convinced. Civil rights activists and tech expertshave raised red flags, warning that language-based identification can easily go wrong. They point out that many Indian citizens, especially from West Bengal, Assam, and border regions, speak in ways that closely resemble Bangladeshi dialects. This, they say, could lead to innocent people being wrongly flagged.

There are also privacy concerns. Questions are being asked about how voice samples will be collected, whether people will be aware they are being analysed, and what safeguards will be in place to prevent misuse of the data. So far, the government has not shared detailed answers on these aspects. Alongside the AI initiative, the state has also indicated plans to set up detention centresfor undocumented migrants before deportation, though specifics on location, capacity, and legal oversight are yet to be made public.