Date: 2026-02-17Category: Press ReleaseState: Union GovernmentCountry: India
The Artificial Intelligence is no longer an option but an essential component of working in every sphere of life: says Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh
**Executive Summary**
The Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is now an essential component across all spheres of life, highlighting India's first government-owned sovereign 'Large Language Model' initiative, BharatGen. The BharatGen project is supported by ₹235 Crore under NM-ICPS and further strengthened by ₹10,585 Crore India AI Mission outlay. Prime Minister Modi has launched BharatGen's latest models, including the Param-2 text foundation model in 22 scheduled Indian languages with 17 billion parameters. The announcement was made on 17 FEB 2026.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **BharatGen Overview:**
* BharatGen is India's first government-owned sovereign multilingual and multimodal Large Language Model (LLM).
* It aims to be tailored to India's socio-cultural context and linguistic diversity.
* It reflects a proactive government policy approach to technological evolution.
* **Implementation and Support:**
* Implemented through a consortium led by the TIH Foundation for IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay.
* Partner institutions include IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Mandi, IIT Kanpur, IIM Indore, and IIT Madras.
* Supported by DST through NM-ICPS with ₹235 crore of funding and further strengthened through the India AI Mission of MeitY with an outlay of ₹10,585 crore.
* **Technological Depth:**
* Spans multiple AI modalities, including text-based large language models, speech technologies (text-to-speech, automatic speech recognition), and document vision-language models.
* Foundational models are designed for inclusive, India-centric applications in governance, healthcare, education, agriculture, and legal systems.
* **Specific Models and Developments:**
* Domain-specific fine-tuned models released: Ayur Param for Ayurveda, Agri Param for agriculture, Legal Param for the Indian legal domain.
* Launched models include Param-2 (text foundation model in 22 languages with 17 billion parameters), Shrutam (speech-to-text in 12 languages), Sooktam (text-to-speech in 12 languages), and Patram (multilingual access to Indian documents).
* **Emphasis on Linguistic Diversity:**
* India's linguistic diversity extends beyond the 22 scheduled languages, requiring continuous expansion of datasets to include regional languages and dialects.
* Scientific advancement should respond to real-world linguistic diversity, especially in digital health and public service delivery.
* **Ecosystem and Partnerships:**
* Integrates academia, government, and industry, supported by collaborative funding.
* Transformed into a Section-8 company (BharatGen Technology Foundation) for national-scale operation.
* Ensures data and model sovereignty through initiatives like Bharat Data Sagar.
**Impact Analysis**
**Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) & Department of Science and Technology (DST)**
* **Impact:** Spearheading and supporting the BharatGen initiative. Responsible for funding and overseeing the project's execution through NM-ICPS and the India AI Mission.
* **Action Required:** Continued support, oversight, and policy adjustments to ensure the successful development and deployment of BharatGen.
**Academic Institutions (IIT Bombay, IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Mandi, IIT Kanpur, IIM Indore, IIT Madras)**
* **Impact:** Integral partners in the implementation of BharatGen, providing research, development, and expertise.
* **Action Required:** Active participation in the consortium, contributing to the development of AI models, and aligning research efforts with BharatGen's objectives.
**Government Agencies and Public Sector**
* **Impact:** Will benefit from India-centric AI applications in governance, healthcare, education, agriculture, and legal systems.
* **Action Required:** Explore and implement BharatGen models to improve service delivery, enhance efficiency, and promote inclusive growth.
**Private Sector**
* **Impact:** Opportunity for collaboration and participation in the BharatGen ecosystem, contributing to innovation and benefiting from supportive policies.
* **Action Required:** Engage in collaborative initiatives, leverage early-stage funding opportunities, and adopt collaborative approaches for technological advancement.
**Citizens of India**
* **Impact:** Access to improved services, and more inclusive and culturally relevant AI applications.
* **Action Required:** No immediate action required. Benefit from the improvements that BharatGen facilitates.
Key Entities Referenced
BharatGen: India's first government owned sovereign multilingual and multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) initiative
India AI Mission: National initiative to promote and develop artificial intelligence in India, supported by a significant financial outlay.
Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY): Government ministry responsible for overseeing the development of the AI ecosystem in India, including the India AI Mission.
National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS): Government initiative that supports BharatGen with funding, implemented through a consortium led by the TIH Foundation for IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
The Artificial Intelligence is no longer an option
but an essential component of working in every
sphere of life: says Union Minister Dr. Jitendra
Singh
Minister lauds India’s first government owned Sovereign
'Large Language Model', Multilingual AI Stack Takes Shape:
Dr. Jitendra Singh Highlights Whole-of-Government Model at
BharatGen Session
BharatGen Supported by ₹235 Crore under NM-ICPS and
Further Strengthened by ₹10,585 Crore India AI Mission
Outlay: says Union Minister
“Prime Minister Modi has launched BharatGen’s latest
models, including the Param-2 text foundation model in 22
scheduled Indian languages with 17 billion parameters”
Posted On: 17 FEB 2026 7:23PM by PIB Delhi
Lauding India's first government owned, sovereign "Large Language Model", Multilingual AI stack,
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology; Earth Sciences; and Minister of
State for PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and
Department of Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh today said that Artificial Intelligence is no longer an option but
an essential component of working in every sphere of life, as he addressed the session on “BharatGen
Models: Vision and Technical Execution 2026” at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.The session was hosted by BharatGen in association with the India AI Mission, Ministry of Electronics &
Information Technology (MeitY), and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), as part of the
Global AI Summit.
Congratulating the BharatGen team, the Minister said the initiative represents a significant milestone in
India’s journey towards technological self-reliance. He underlined that BharatGen stands out as a
government-owned sovereign multilingual and multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) initiative,
tailored to India’s socio-cultural context and linguistic diversity. While large language models are known
globally, he noted that BharatGen’s distinct feature lies in its sovereign, government-supported character,
reflecting a proactive policy approach at an early stage of technological evolution.
Union Minister observed that BharatGen exemplifies a “whole-of-science, whole-of-government and
whole-of-nation” model. The initiative is implemented through a consortium led by the TIH Foundation
for IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay, with partner institutions including IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Hyderabad, IIT
Mandi, IIT Kanpur, IIM Indore and IIT Madras. It is supported by DST through the National Mission on
Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) with ₹235 crore of funding, and further
strengthened through the India AI Mission of MeitY with an outlay of ₹10,585 crore.
Highlighting the technological depth of the project, the Minister noted that BharatGen spans multiple AI
modalities, including text-based large language models, speech technologies such as text-to-speech and
automatic speech recognition, and document vision-language models. He stated that BharatGen’s
foundational models are designed for inclusive, India-centric applications in governance, healthcare,
education, agriculture and legal systems, especially in linguistically diverse regions.Referring to recent developments, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that BharatGen has already released domain-
specific fine-tuned models such as Ayur Param for Ayurveda, Agri Param for agriculture and Legal Param
for the Indian legal domain. He further noted that the Hon’ble Prime Minister launched BharatGen’s latest
models, including the Param-2 text foundation model in 22 scheduled Indian languages with 17 billion
parameters, Shrutam speech-to-text models in 12 Indian languages, Sooktam text-to-speech models in 12
languages, and Patram models under the DocBodh framework for multilingual access to complex Indian
documents.
The Minister emphasised that India’s linguistic diversity extends beyond the 22 scheduled languages, and
stressed the need to continuously expand datasets to include widely spoken regional languages and
dialects. He noted that scientific advancement cannot be confined by administrative boundaries and must
respond to real-world linguistic diversity, particularly in sectors such as digital health and public service
delivery.
Dr. Singh also highlighted that BharatGen’s ecosystem integrates academia, government and industry,
supported by collaborative funding mechanisms. He stated that the initiative has transformed into a
Section-8 company, the BharatGen Technology Foundation, enabling it to operate at national scale while
ensuring data and model sovereignty through initiatives such as Bharat Data Sagar.
Calling for a change in mindset across public and private sectors, the Minister said that emerging
technologies such as AI require collaborative approaches rather than siloed functioning. He underscored
that the Government is committed to enabling innovation through supportive policies, early-stage funding
and openness to private participation, ensuring that India keeps pace with global advancements.
The session also featured presentations by Shri Rishi Bal, CEO BharatGen; Prof. Ganesh Ramakrishnan,
Principal Investigator, IIT Bombay; Prof. S. Ravi Kiran, IIIT Hyderabad; and Dr. Amol Gite, Vice
President, BharatGen, who outlined the ecosystem, data journey, deployment-ready platforms and sectoral
partnerships. Addresses were delivered by Dr. Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman, NMICPS; Shri S.Krishnan, Secretary MeitY; Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary DST; and Prof. Ajay Kumar Sood,
Principal Scientific Adviser. An MoU exchange between BharatGen and the IIT Bombay Heritage
Foundation also took place in the presence of the Minister.
Concluding his address, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that BharatGen represents a new phase in India’s AI
journey combining sovereign capability, collaborative execution and inclusive design and will play a vital
role in building a robust national AI infrastructure aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat.
*****
MK/ PF/ MSZ/ PM
(Release ID: 2229273) Visitor Counter : 286
Read this release in: Urdu , ही , Telugu , Kannada