Why in the News?

The government has selected Bengaluru-based start-up Sarvam to build the country’s first indigenous artificial intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) amid waves made by China’s low cost model DeepSeek.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• India’s Sovereign AI Model (Introduction, About Sarvam AI Model, Variants, Significance, Challenges, Future Prospects)

Introduction

• In a landmark move to bolster India’s strategic autonomy in artificial intelligence (AI), Bengaluru-based start-up Sarvam AI has been selected to build the country’s first homegrown sovereign large language model (LLM).
• The project, undertaken under the government’s ambitious ₹10,370 crore IndiaAI Mission, aims to create a robust AI infrastructure fully developed, deployed, and optimized within India.
• This development marks a critical step toward ensuring India’s leadership in the AI domain and promoting domestic innovation through indigenous capabilities.

About the Sarvam AI Model Initiative

• The government chose Sarvam after a rigorous selection process involving 67 applicants. The start-up will receive extensive support, including access to 4,000 high-end GPUs for six months to build the model from scratch​.
• The GPUs will be provided through companies such as Yotta Data Services, Tata Communications, and E2E Networks, which were separately empanelled to create AI data centres in India​.
• The model, to be built entirely using local talent and infrastructure, will have 70 billion parameters, positioning it to compete with some of the best global AI models.
• According to Sarvam, the LLM will focus on advanced reasoning, voice-based tasks, and fluency in Indian languages, making it uniquely suited for India's diverse population​​.

Model Variants Under Development

• Sarvam AI plans to develop three key variants of its LLM​:
  • Sarvam-Large: Designed for advanced reasoning and complex generation tasks.
  • Sarvam-Small: A lightweight model optimized for real-time interactive applications.
  • Sarvam-Edge: A compact model tailored for on-device processing, enabling AI capabilities on mobile and IoT devices.
• These variants aim to cater to a wide range of applications, from citizen services to enterprise solutions, ensuring adaptability across various use cases.

Strategic Significance of the Project

• This initiative goes beyond technological advancement; it is a strategic move to establish critical national AI infrastructure.
• The company emphasized that the goal is to create multi-modal, multi-scale foundation models that are not just functional but deeply integrated with Indian languages and societal needs​​.
• For citizens, this means AI systems that feel familiar and culturally relevant.
• For enterprises, it unlocks the potential to harness AI capabilities without concerns over data sovereignty, as all processes will remain within India's borders.

The IndiaAI Mission and National AI Infrastructure

• The IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet, is focused on scaling India's AI ecosystem by investing in compute capacity, skilled research talent, datasets, AI applications, and trusted AI practices​.
• One of its key initiatives is the IndiaAI Compute Capacity program, which aims to deploy over 10,000 GPUs to democratize access to AI resources for startups, researchers, and institutions.
• To facilitate greater participation, especially by smaller companies, the government has also eased eligibility norms for accessing these resources, offering GPU services at globally competitive subsidized rates​.
• Sarvam’s selection to develop the first sovereign AI model exemplifies the mission’s objective of nurturing homegrown champions capable of competing on the global stage.

Challenges and Opportunities Ahead

• While the opportunity is historic, building a population-scale LLM is a complex challenge.
• It demands seamless integration of vast datasets, engineering innovations to handle diverse languages and dialects, and fine-tuning for cultural and contextual understanding.
• Additionally, unlike some global LLMs that are open-sourced, Sarvam’s model is expected to be closely managed and fine-tuned specifically for Indian use cases​.
• This positions it as a secure and specialized alternative in an era where data privacy and localized solutions are paramount.

Future Prospects

Sarvam’s success could unlock a universe of possibilities, from enabling AI-driven citizen services in rural areas to building enterprise-grade AI applications with localized intelligence. It sets the foundation for India to not merely consume global AI solutions but to become a co-creator and leader in AI innovation.

With investments from prominent venture capitalists​, Sarvam is well-resourced to deliver on this ambitious national mission.