IndiaAI Mission backs 20 homegrown AI models, allocates 93 lakh GPU hours

NEW DELHI: India’s artificial intelligence ambitions are gathering pace. The government has identified 20 indigenous AI foundation model proposals, sanctioned more than 93 lakh GPU hours for AI development and launched a series of governance and safety initiatives under the IndiaAI Mission, according to information tabled in Parliament.

Responding to a starred question in the Lok Sabha, Union minister for electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw said the mission is aimed at democratising AI by making computing infrastructure, datasets, talent and applications accessible across the country while creating jobs and addressing risks associated with the technology.

The government said 20 sovereign AI model proposals have been selected for support, including 12 large language models (LLMs) and eight small language models (SLMs). Among the projects under development are Sarvam AI’s 30 billion and 105 billion parameter models, Gnani.ai’s speech-to-speech model, BharatGen’s multilingual foundation models and Avataar AI’s video generation model. Several domain-specific language models for healthcare, language technologies and agentic AI are also at different stages of development.

To support AI development, the mission has empanelled 15 compute service providers, approved 237 projects and allocated 93.18 lakh GPU hours. The government said compute resources are available nationwide, allowing startups, researchers and institutions to access infrastructure regardless of location.

On the application front, the mission has launched 12 national AI hackathons and innovation challenges, supported the development of 62 AI prototypes and facilitated the deployment of 20 AI-based solutions.

The talent pipeline is also expanding. So far, 686 fellowships have been awarded across undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in 178 institutions, while more than 26.5 lakh individuals have completed the YUVA AI for All programme.

Infrastructure development has progressed alongside skilling initiatives. The government said 27 India Data and AI Labs are operational, training over 2,500 students, with work underway on another 188 labs. In addition, 58 Artificial Intelligence Centres of Excellence have been approved across states and Union Territories in collaboration with state governments and industry partners.

As part of its AI governance framework, the government released the India AI Governance Guidelines in November 2025 and has since established three institutional mechanisms: the AI Governance and Economic Group, the Technology and Policy Expert Committee, and the AI Safety Institute, which will oversee AI safety research, standards, testing and risk assessment.

The government said it is also investing in responsible AI. Under the mission’s Safe and Trusted AI pillar, 13 projects have been selected covering explainability, bias mitigation, privacy-preserving AI, algorithm auditing, deepfake detection, AI forensics, risk assessment and generative AI security.

The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 provides the legal framework for safeguarding personal data used in AI applications, while CERT-In has issued advisories on adversarial AI threats and responsible use of generative AI, alongside launching a specialised AI cybersecurity certification programme.

The government also highlighted India’s growing international role in AI. The India AI Impact Summit 2026, held in New Delhi in February, brought together participants from more than 100 countries, with 92 countries and international organisations endorsing the summit declaration and 13 leading AI model developers signing the New Delhi Frontier AI Impact Commitments.

In Maharashtra, three AI Centres of Excellence are being established in Navi Mumbai, Pune and Nagpur, while 33 IndiaAI Data and AI Labs have been sanctioned across the state. The mission is also supporting Maharashtra-based AI startups through international acceleration programmes and collaborating on future initiatives including Marathi language models and AI-powered agricultural advisory platforms.

The government said the benefits of the IndiaAI Mission are being extended to remote and aspirational regions through location-agnostic access to computing infrastructure, AI laboratories, fellowships and skilling programmes, reinforcing its goal of making AI development more inclusive across the country.