India’s first sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) model will be ready by February 2026, ahead of the India AI Impact Summit, according to S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2025, Krishnan said the country has made “rapid strides” in building a robust AI ecosystem and compute infrastructure, setting the stage for India’s entry into the global foundational model race.
“Before the end of this year, hopefully, we should have our first foundational model — entirely an Indian model. By the time of the India AI Summit, we should be able to launch India’s sovereign model,”
Krishnan said.
The India AI Impact Summit 2026 is scheduled for February 19–20.
💻 India’s Compute Power Sees Massive Expansion
India has significantly enhanced its AI compute capacity, with the deployment of 38,000 GPUs (Graphics Processing Units) — almost four times the original target of 10,000.
Krishnan said this expansion was part of the India AI Mission, designed to ensure researchers and startups have access to world-class computing resources for training large AI models.
“The government has been procuring GPUs through an open, quarterly bidding process to ensure transparency and continuous expansion of resources,”
he added.
The government also plans to support private sector innovation by making additional GPU resources available to Indian firms through shared-access frameworks.
⚙️ Indigenous GPU Development Underway
A key component of India’s long-term AI roadmap is developing indigenous GPUs under the India Semiconductor Mission 2.0, which is currently under discussion.
The initiative aims to reduce dependence on foreign chipmakers and build AI hardware capabilities within the country.
“Developing homegrown GPUs will be critical to ensuring technological sovereignty and cost-efficient scaling of AI workloads in the coming decade,”
Krishnan said.
🇮🇳 Data Sovereignty and Inclusivity at Core
The MeitY Secretary emphasised that India’s sovereign AI model will be built with data sovereignty, inclusivity, and sectoral innovation at its core.
Key Focus Areas:
- Trained on Indian Data: The model will be trained entirely on Indian data sets, hosted on Indian servers, and governed under domestic privacy laws.
- Sector-Specific Models: Apart from the foundational model, the government will develop smaller, sector-focused AI models to enhance productivity in areas like agriculture, education, healthcare, and governance.
- Inclusive Access: The platforms will be designed to ensure equal access to startups, academic institutions, and public service initiatives.
“Our goal is to make AI meaningful and inclusive — not just a buzzword, but a tool that enhances productivity where it matters most,”
Krishnan added.
🧠 Domestic AI Ecosystem Getting a Boost
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary at MeitY, revealed that the government is supporting 12 domestic AI firms under the India AI Mission.
At least two companies are expected to have their foundational AI models ready by the end of 2025.
“These Indian models will complement the sovereign AI effort, ensuring multiple innovation streams and preventing over-reliance on foreign platforms,”
Singh said.
The government is also facilitating data-sharing agreements, compute credit programs, and research partnerships to accelerate the AI ecosystem’s growth.
🌐 India’s Bid for AI Leadership
India’s push for a sovereign AI model comes as countries across the world — including the U.S., China, the EU, and the UAE — race to build their own foundational AI systems.
By leveraging its large data ecosystem, growing digital infrastructure, and rapid policy alignment, India aims to become a key player in ethical, inclusive AI development.
Industry experts believe India’s indigenous model will also help reduce dependence on Western APIs and foster greater control over data governance.
