BharatGen: Revolutionizing India's AI Landscape with Sovereignty and Accessibility

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is pivotal in fast-tracking India's technological ecosystem, according to Rishi Bal, Executive Vice President of BharatGen. In an interview with ANI, Bal highlighted BharatGen's mission to establish a sovereign AI framework that respects India's diverse languages and cultures.

BharatGen, a groundbreaking initiative under the BharatGen Consortium, aims to develop Generative AI technologies that meet the varied socio-cultural and industrial demands of India. Supported by the Department of Science and Technology's National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems and anchored by IIT Bombay's Technology Innovation Hub, it stands as India's inaugural government-funded Multimodal Large Language Model project. The focus is on creating AI solutions across 22 Indian languages, integrating text, speech, and images to enhance Indian realities.

Bal emphasized the initiative's three core pillars: ensuring AI supply security, embedding Indian cultural nuances in AI models, and making AI accessible to all. BharatGen has already introduced smaller models and plans to scale under the government's AI Mission. Future models aim to be multimodal, capable of processing text, images, and speech simultaneously, with enhanced intelligence.

A significant application of BharatGen's AI is the Krishi Saathi tool for agriculture, which empowers farmers with real-time solutions via WhatsApp voice interface. It assists with problem-solving, resource procurement, and subsidy access, facilitating a comprehensive support system for farmers.

Expressing gratitude for government funding, Bal noted the critical role financial support plays in overcoming AI infrastructure challenges. The initiative plans to develop AI models for sectors like law, agriculture, finance, and governance, benefiting an ecosystem-wide audience. The funding also supports training students from academic institutions involved in the project.

Bal concluded by highlighting the long-term vision: not only developing next-gen AI models but also cultivating skilled AI professionals in India to drive future innovations. This effort is about building the foundation for India's AI future, both in infrastructure and talent.

(With inputs from agencies.)