The central government has received at least 67 proposals to build an India-specific artificial intelligence foundational model, including 20 large language models (LLMs), according to media reports. This is part of an ambitious 10 crore India AI mission that was launched in March 2024.
The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT is in the process of setting up a high-level technical committee to evaluate all these proposals, according to the national media. This high-level committee will include experts from outside who will evaluate and take a call on their feasibility within a month. The Ministry called for proposals in January from India-based entities and researchers to build a domestic foundational model. Proposals for large language models (LLMs) are received from big names like Sarvam AI, CoRover.ai and Ola.
Responding to China’s DeepSeek
This step will be a response to the low-cost foundational model of AI from China. Deep Seek is shaking up the AI industry for its accuracy and open-source use while being built at a fraction of the cost of its US competitor. The model’s entry into the industry has also reignited a conversation about stricter export control in India.
Electronics and IT minister, Ashwini Vaishnav, has earlier pointed out that the country could produce a world-class AI model in the next 9 to 10 months. The coming of the Deep Seek has made India anxious about whether the country is losing in the AI race for want of a locally developed LLM. The government is also open to funding multiple such models based on scalability and viability. The intellectual property rights of the models will remain with the entity with a perpetual public use license by the government.
The government has envisioned a two-pronged approach to funding the model. The first step is the initial direct financial support for the development of the model which would include milestone-based disbursement. The second step involves equity-based funding.
The central government has selected 10 companies to supply more than 18 thousand graphic processing units or GPUs that could go into developing a fundamental model.
