Anthropic restrictions expose India’s AI dependence, says Kishore Lulla

MUMBAI: A fresh debate over artificial intelligence sovereignty has emerged after restrictions on access to some of Anthropic’s most advanced AI models prompted renewed calls for India to accelerate the development of homegrown AI infrastructure.

Kishore Lulla, founder and executive chairman of Eros Innovation, has said the recent restrictions imposed on foreign access to Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models should serve as a wake-up call for countries that remain dependent on overseas AI platforms and infrastructure.

The comments come after Anthropic suspended access to the two frontier AI models following a US government directive that reportedly placed them under stricter export-control regulations on national security grounds. Anthropic has said it complied with the order while disagreeing with the government’s assessment.

Reacting to the development, Lulla argued that the episode highlights the strategic risks associated with relying on foreign-controlled AI systems for critical technological, economic and cultural capabilities.

“ I have said this before and I will say it again, this was inevitable. When a nation’s cultural expression depends on foreign platforms, foreign models and foreign infrastructure, those platforms will always make decisions that reflect their own priorities, not ours,” said Kishore Lulla.

“Claude restricting access to Indian users is not a surprise. It is a consequence of a structural dependency that India must urgently address.”

Lulla pointed to Eros Innovation’s own efforts in the field, highlighting the company’s Eros LCM family of models as part of a broader sovereign AI initiative. According to him, the project has been recognised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), anchored at IIT Madras and trained on datasets owned and controlled within India.

“This is precisely why we built the Eros LCM family as a sovereign AI initiative. India cannot afford to be a consumer of AI built elsewhere. Every time a foreign platform restricts access, changes terms, or simply decides that India is not a priority, we are reminded of what is at stake,” he said.

The episode has triggered wider discussions across the global technology ecosystem about access to advanced AI systems and the strategic importance of domestic AI capabilities. As governments increasingly view frontier AI technologies through the lens of national security, access to cutting-edge models may become subject to geopolitical considerations rather than purely commercial ones.

Lulla believes that countries such as India must invest aggressively in indigenous AI models, domestic datasets and local computing infrastructure to ensure technological resilience and long-term competitiveness.

“Sovereign AI is not a policy ambition. It is a national necessity. India has the data, the talent, the institutions and the government commitment to build it. The question is urgency. I hope this moment accelerates it,” he added.

The debate arrives at a crucial time for India’s AI ecosystem, as policymakers, startups and technology companies race to build domestic capabilities amid intensifying global competition. While foreign AI platforms continue to play a major role in innovation and adoption, the Anthropic episode has reinforced concerns about how quickly access to critical technologies can change when geopolitical priorities shift.

For advocates of sovereign AI, the incident offers a clear reminder that technological self-reliance is no longer just an economic objective but increasingly a strategic imperative.