Executive Summary:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology addresses a parliamentary question regarding the Bharat AI Exchange platform and India's AI strategy. The response outlines the IndiaAI mission, launched in March 2024, designed to establish a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem. It details key pillars of the mission, including compute capacity, foundation models, data platforms (AIKosh), application development, skills development, startup financing, and safe AI practices. The AIKosh platform includes a sandbox for startups and academia and has developed nine use cases across various sectors.
Key Points / Main Content:
India's AI Strategy:
* Vision: Democratize technology use to address India-centric challenges and create economic/employment opportunities.
* Ecosystem: India has a strong IT ecosystem with over $250 billion in annual revenue and more than 6 million employees.
* Global Ranking: India is ranked among the top countries in AI skills, capabilities, and policies.
* IndiaAI Mission: Launched in March 2024 to position India as a global AI leader.
Seven Key Pillars of IndiaAI Mission:
* IndiaAI Compute Capacity: Affordable high-end compute power (GPUs) for all, including MSMEs and startups.
* IndiaAI Foundation Models: Development of Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) trained on Indian datasets and languages to ensure sovereign capability.
* AIKosh: Unified data platform integrating datasets from government and non-government sources for training AI models.
* IndiaAI Application Development Initiative: AI applications for sectors like climate change, healthcare, agriculture, governance, and assistive technologies.
* IndiaAIFutureSkills: Development of AI skilled professionals and establishment of Data and AI Labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
* IndiaAI Startup Financing: Financial assistance to AI startups.
* Safe Trusted AI: Balance innovation with strong governance frameworks for responsible AI adoption.
BharatX Platform:
* Function: National level data exchange for secure data sharing between government entities and encourages private sector participation.
* Role: Serves as the data repository for the AIKosh Platform.
AIKosh Platform:
* Sandbox: Provides a sandbox mechanism for Indian startups and academia to test tools.
* Use Cases: Nine curated use cases developed across sectors including Agriculture, Healthcare, Urban Planning, Energy, Finance, and Governance.
* Call for Submissions: Ministries, departments, and organizations are invited to submit their own use cases.
Impact Analysis:
Government Ministries/Entities:
* Impact: Encouraged to utilize BharatX for data sharing and contribute datasets to AIKosh. Invited to submit use cases to AIKosh.
* Action Required: Explore opportunities to share data on BharatX, contribute datasets to AIKosh, and submit relevant use cases.
Startups and Civic Tech Organizations:
* Impact: Opportunity to pilot governance-enhancing AI models in AIKosh's sandbox environment and potential access to financial assistance.
* Action Required: Explore the AIKosh sandbox for testing AI models and apply for startup financing opportunities.
Academia:
* Impact: Access to AIKosh sandbox for testing tools.
* Action Required: Utilize the AIKosh sandbox for AI tool development and testing.
AI Professionals/Students:
* Impact: Increased opportunities for AI skills development through IndiaAIFutureSkills initiatives.
* Action Required: Participate in training programs and explore opportunities in Data and AI Labs.
MSMEs:
* Impact: Access to affordable high-end compute power (GPUs).
* Action Required: Leverage the IndiaAI Compute Capacity pillar for AI-related activities.
Key Entities Referenced
Bharat AI Exchange: A platform that includes a sandbox for startups and civic tech organizations to pilot governance-enhancing AI models.
IndiaAI Mission: A strategic initiative launched in March 2024 to establish a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem aligned with India's development goals.
AIKosh: A unified data platform integrating datasets from government and non-government sources to develop large datasets for training AI models.
IndiaAI Compute Capacity: Aims to provide high-end compute power GPUs to all, including MSMEs and startups, at an affordable cost.
IndiaAI Foundation Models: Focuses on developing India's own Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) trained on Indian datasets and languages to ensure sovereign capability and global competitiveness in generative AI.
IndiaAIFutureSkills: Aims to develop AI skilled professionals in India by increasing the number of graduates, postgraduate and PhDs in AI domain, and envisions setting up Data and AI Labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India.
BharatX: A national level data exchange for sharing of data between various government ministries entities which ensures seamless and secure data exchange between different government entities.
Stanford AI rankings: A global ranking system that places India among the top countries in AI skills, capabilities, and policies to use AI.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 505
TO BE ANSWERED ON: 23.07.2025
BHARAT AI EXCHANGE PLATFORM
505. SHRI DHAVAL LAXMANBHAI PATEL:
Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:
(a) whether the Bharat AI Exchange platform includes or plans to include a sandbox for startups
and civic tech organisations to pilot governance-enhancing AI models and if so, the details thereof;
(b) the number of pilot participants and the sectors being prioritized (e.g., urban mobility,
grievance redressal); and
(c) whether such innovations being incentivised through inter-ministerial coordination?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI JITIN PRASADA)
(a) to (c): India’s AI strategy is based on the Hon’ble Prime Minister's vision to democratize the
use of technology. It aims to address India centric challenges, create economic and employment
opportunities for all Indians.
AI ecosystem in India at present:
India has a strong information technology ecosystem. It generates annual revenues of more than
250 billion dollars and provides employment to more than 6 million people.
Global rankings such as Stanford AI rankings place India among the top countries in AI skills,
capabilities, and policies to use AI. India is also the second-largest contributor to GitHub AI
projects, showcasing its vibrant developer community.
India’s AI strategy:
India’s AI strategy aims to position India as a global leader in artificial intelligence. Government
launched IndiaAI mission in March 2024. It is a strategic initiative to establish a robust and
inclusive AI ecosystem aligned with India's development goals.
The IndiaAI Mission comprises of the following 7 key pillars:
• IndiaAI Compute Capacity: It aims to provide high-end compute power (GPUs) to all,
including MSMEs and startups, at an affordable cost.
• IndiaAI Foundation Models: To develop India’s own Large Multimodal Models (LMMs)
trained on Indian datasets and languages. This will ensure sovereign capability and global
competitiveness in generative AI.
• AIKosh: To develop large datasets for training AI models. AIKosh is a unified data platform
integrating datasets from government and non-government sources.• IndiaAI Application Development Initiative: This pillar aims to develop AI applications for
India specific challenges in sectors such as climate change and disaster management,
healthcare, agriculture, governance, and assistive technologies for learning disabilities.
• IndiaAIFutureSkills: To develop AI skilled professionals in India by increasing the number
of graduates, post-graduate and PhDs in AI domain. It also envisions setting up Data and AI
Labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India.
• IndiaAI Startup Financing: To provide financial assistance to AI start-ups.
• Safe & Trusted AI: To balance innovation with strong governance frameworks to ensure
responsible AI adoption.
BharatX
• BharatX is a national level data exchange for sharing of data between various government
ministries/ entities. It ensures seamless and secure data exchange between different
government entities.
• Private sector entities are also encouraged to share their AI ready datasets to the AIKosh
platform.
• BharatX platform aims to serve as the data repository for AIKosh Platform. AIKosh also
provides a sandbox mechanism which allows Indian start-ups/ academia to test their tools in a
controlled environment.
• On the AIKosh platform, so far, 9 curated use cases across various sectors have been
developed, including Agriculture, Healthcare, Urban Planning, Energy, Finance, and
Governance.
• Ministries, departments, and organizations are also invited to submit their own use cases on
the platform, utilizing contributed datasets.
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