Why in news?
During a Rajya Sabha session, the Minister of State for Science and Technology announced that the Bharat GenAI initiative will complete text‑based models in all 22 scheduled Indian languages this month. Speech and vision models already cover 15 languages.
Background
Launched under the IndiaAI Mission in 2024, Bharat GenAI aims to build sovereign artificial‑intelligence models tailored to India’s linguistic and cultural landscape. Unlike many commercial models that focus on English or a few global languages, Bharat GenAI seeks to serve India’s diversity and strategic needs. The initiative is led by IIT Bombay in collaboration with other institutes and is part of a network of 25 Technology Innovation Hubs.
Key aspects of Bharat GenAI
- Multimodal design: The project covers three modalities — text, speech and vision. Text models for all 22 constitutionally recognised languages are nearing completion; speech and vision capabilities currently cover 15 languages and will expand to dialects and regional variations.
- Sovereign and inclusive: Being government‑funded, the models will remain aligned with India’s legal frameworks and cultural values. The focus is on inclusion, authenticity and gradual expansion to cover dialects.
- Institutional architecture: A consortium spearheaded by IIT Bombay includes institutes like IIT Hyderabad, Madras, Kanpur, Mandi and Indore. Twenty‑five technology innovation hubs support research and translation, four of which have become Technology Translational Research Parks.
- Compute and funding: To ensure adequate computational resources, the IndiaAI Mission provides shared GPU access at subsidised rates and has created a large research and development fund. Private sector participation and open‑source collaboration are encouraged.
- Applications: Beyond general language tasks, the models will have domain‑specific applications in agriculture, Ayurveda, law and other sectors. This will enable Indian startups and public services to build solutions on a native AI foundation.
Significance
- Linguistic empowerment: Providing AI tools in multiple Indian languages democratises access to information and services.
- Strategic autonomy: A sovereign AI platform reduces dependence on foreign technology and allows India to set its own standards for data governance, privacy and ethics.
- Innovation ecosystem: The initiative fosters research collaborations and entrepreneurship across the country, positioning India as a contributor to global AI development.
Source: Press Information Bureau
