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Against the backdrop of intensifying global competition for AI technology, the Indian government has launched a major artificial intelligence project called BharatGen. The project has received support from the Ministry of Science and Technology and plans to invest about Rs 23.5 billion (about US$27 million) to build the country's own basic AI model to ensure India's technological autonomy.
The advancement of the BharatGen project was not accidental. It accelerated India's pace of building its own large AI model under the influence of China's DeepSeek. According to official news, India’s AI mission has received 67 proposals, of which 20 plan to build a large language model (LLM). Among these proposals, BharatGen stands out with his unique background and goals.
The project is composed of several top academic institutions, including Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai, Kanpur, Mandi, Madras, Hyderabad, and Indian Institute of Management India. BharatGen is not just a technology project, but an AI mission at the national level, aiming to promote cooperation among various departments and ensure long-term development of technology and autonomous control of intellectual property rights.
Professor Ramakrishnan, head of BharatGen, said the project has made significant technological progress and has received attention from senior government officials. Indian Science and Technology Minister Vaishnaf also said that India will have its own basic AI model within 7 to 8 months, and BharatGen is the key to achieving this goal.
Unlike many private companies, BharatGen focuses more on academic foundations and emphasizes long-term innovation and sustainable development. Professor Ramakrishnan pointed out that private enterprises tend to focus only on business interests and are difficult to truly serve India's diverse cultural and economic needs. BharatGen is committed to building AI models serving the people, especially in the fields of agriculture, public services, etc.
In the current international environment, having independent AI technology has become particularly important. Ramakrishnan stressed that relying on external AI models is not feasible for India, especially in key areas such as defense. He said India must build its own AI infrastructure to ensure security and independence.
Currently, the BharatGen team is rapidly advancing the project. In addition, the team is also in conversation with the government about infrastructure, including the allocation of GPU resources, to support the continuous development of AI research.
