India launched BharatGen December 2024 led by IIT Bombay ₹1,058.82cr
Technology
India launched BharatGen in December 2024, a nonprofit AI group led by IIT Bombay and backed by a ₹1,058.82 crore grant under the government's ₹10,372-crore AI mission.
Since kicking off in December 2024, it has already built Param-2 (a powerful 17-billion-parameter model) and rolled out tools like Sooktam2 for text-to-speech and Shrutam2 for speech-to-text.
BharatGen seeks India focused AI
BharatGen wants to make AI that actually works for India: think local languages and less dependence on big foreign tech like OpenAI.
It is even part of Project Tapestry, an international AI effort with former Meta AI chief Yann LeCun.
Still, there are hurdles: India needs more skilled talent, better research facilities, and stronger infrastructure to keep up with the US and China.