“As a technologist, I see AI as a tool for people to use, not a threat to be feared.” - Fei Fei Li, AI researcher
India’s push toward sovereign AI
India is preparing to introduce its first homegrown foundational large language model, built by Sarvam Artificial Intelligence. Expected by February, the model aims to strengthen the country’s technological independence and showcase India’s growing ability to develop advanced AI systems rooted in local needs and data.
A model built on Indian data
Sarvam AI is working on a 120 billion parameter open source model constructed largely from Indian data. The company says this helps overcome the limitations of existing global models that rely heavily on non-Indian datasets. This approach is positioned to support better accuracy and cultural alignment in applications focused on India’s languages and public services.
Government-backed momentum
The upcoming India AI Impact Summit is likely to host the model’s launch, signaling the government’s intent to champion sovereign AI capabilities. Sarvam AI is part of the IndiaAI Mission, which is building the country’s first sovereign LLM ecosystem meant to power use cases such as citizen services, public sector access and digital governance tools.
Growing ecosystem of Indian AI models
Besides Sarvam, other Indian companies are also developing advanced models. Soket is creating a 120 billion parameter system tailored for India’s linguistic diversity, while Gnani is building a 14 billion parameter speech model for multilingual, real-time processing. Another company, Gan AI, plans a 70 billion parameter model for text-to-speech tasks.
A step toward global AI competitiveness
The emergence of multiple large models signals a shift in India’s role in the global AI landscape. With local innovation accelerating, India is positioning itself to be more than a user of global tools and instead become an active creator of foundational technologies.
Summary
India is preparing to launch its first homegrown LLM, led by Sarvam AI and supported by the IndiaAI Mission. With other companies also developing large models, the country is building a strong sovereign AI ecosystem aimed at linguistic diversity, public services and real-world applications.
Food for thought
Will India’s sovereign AI models meaningfully reshape how citizens interact with public digital services?
AI concept to learn: Foundational Models
Foundational models are large AI systems trained on massive datasets so they can perform many different tasks. They serve as the base for creating specialized tools without training from scratch. Learning them helps beginners understand how modern AI applications are built today.
[The Billion Hopes Research Team shares the latest AI updates for learning and awareness. Various sources are used. All copyrights acknowledged. This is not a professional, financial, personal or medical advice. Please consult domain experts before making decisions. Feedback welcome!]
COMMENTS