India Set to Develop Indigenous AI Model with Rs 2,000 Crore Investment

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In a strategic move to bolster its standing in the global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape, the Indian government is planning to develop a custom foundational AI model.

According to media reports, this initiative aims to cater specifically to the needs of Indian businesses, entrepreneurs, academics, and researchers.

Major Investment and Strategic Timing

The ambitious project is expected to begin after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, with an initial investment of Rs 2,000 crore, as reported by the media outlets. This effort is designed to position India alongside technological powerhouses like China and the United States, which have already launched similar initiatives.

The proposed project will likely be spearheaded by the IndiaAI Innovation Centre, anticipated to be established under the Rs 10,000 crore IndiaAI Mission.

Collaboration with Academia and Industry

A senior government official highlighted that the initiative would likely involve collaboration with leading higher education institutes and prominent AI researchers in the private sector.

As reported, the model is envisioned as either a large action model (LAM) or a large multimodal model (LMM), designed to support a wide range of applications and services.

Foundation for Future AI Models

Foundational models, which are essentially pre-trained generative transformers, form the basis for the development of various other AI models. These models utilize existing data to generate new responses based on user inputs.

Emphasizing the importance of meeting India’s specific needs, the media reports noted that the foundational model would aim to deliver outputs in multiple native languages, leveraging previous work from projects like Bhashini.

India’s AI Initiatives and Bhashini

India has been making significant strides in the AI sector. One notable initiative is Bhashini, an AI-based language translation platform launched by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in 2022.

Bhashini exemplifies the government’s commitment to addressing linguistic diversity through technology. The platform facilitates real-time translation and aims to bridge communication gaps across India’s multitude of languages.

Overcoming AI Translation Challenges

The development of foundational models is typically undertaken by both private entities and government bodies. Data from the Stanford Center for Research on Foundation Models indicates that over 330 such models have been created globally by April 2024.

However, these models often face challenges such as hallucination, bias, and comprehension issues. Despite these hurdles, models from entities like Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Google, and Amazon continue to lead the field.

The Indian government plans to leverage publicly available data, digitized literature, and anonymized non-personal data from various stakeholders to train its foundational model. This approach aims to mitigate some of the common challenges and enhance the model’s reliability and utility.

The development of a bespoke foundational AI model tailored to the country’s unique requirements marks a significant step forward in India’s technological advancement.