Celebrating a milestone in India’s artificial intelligence journey, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, officially inaugurated ‘Bharat Gen’, India’s first government-supported, indigenously created Large Language Model (LLM) specifically designed for Indian languages. The inauguration was at the BharatGen Summit, described as the country’s largest generative AI and LLM hackathon.
A Milestone in India’s AI Landscape
Bharat Gen is a next-generation multilingual and multimodal AI platform, designed under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). The initiative is led by the TIH Foundation for IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay, with strategic support from the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
This native AI engine offers support for 22 Indian languages, catering to the country’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity. It offers cutting-edge features in text, speech, and image processing with high utility across domains like education, governance, agriculture, and digital inclusion.
Infrastructure for Innovation
The Bharat Gen program is based on a strong technological ecosystem. It is driven by a network of 25 Technology Innovation Hubs (TIHs) across the country, with four of them being upgraded to Technology Translational Research Parks (TTRPs) to help translate research innovations into practical applications. The hubs encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration, merging academic research and industrial requirements in order to create scalable AI solutions.
Generative AI Hackathon 2025 Kicks Off
In alignment with the launch, the Generative AI Hackathon 2025 was also launched. The national competition is designed to encourage student innovators and researchers to develop AI-based solutions for real-world problems. The hackathon should encourage innovation and entrepreneurship among India’s youth, going in line with the overall vision for technology self-reliance and global AI leadership by the country.
AI as a Tool for National Progress
During his keynote speech, Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted India’s increased presence in the world of AI. Referring to the efficient use of the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) as a model of AI being replicated by other nations, Singh stressed the importance of AI in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, especially towards improving access to education in local languages.
He also brought out the revolutionary role of AI and digital technology in rural innovation by mentioning more than 3,000 agri-tech start-ups and new agricultural ventures such as lavender farming in Jammu & Kashmir as symbols of how AI can strengthen local communities.
Looking Ahead
The establishment of Bharat Gen is a testament to India’s vision of developing sovereign AI infrastructure appropriate to its specific socio-linguistic environment. It further establishes the nation as a world leader in ethical, inclusive, and scalable AI development.
With the support of government, academic prowess, and engagement of talent from across the country through campaigns such as the Generative AI Hackathon, Bharat Gen is a significant foray into AI solution building “for India, by India.
Press Release issued by Ministry of Science & Technology
https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2133312
