BharatGen: India's First Government-Funded Multimodal AI Initiative
BharatGen was inaugurated in New Delhi, marking a significant step in India's commitment to generative AI. The initiative aims to enhance public service delivery and citizen engagement by developing foundational models in language, speech, and computer vision. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for various portfolios, emphasised BharatGen's role in positioning India as a global leader in generative AI, similar to the transformative impact of UPI.
BharatGen, led by IIT Bombay under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), focuses on creating generative AI systems that produce high-quality text and multimodal content in various Indian languages. The project is implemented by the TIH Foundation for IoT and IOE at IIT Bombay, with contributions from several premier institutions, including IIIT Hyderabad and IIM Indore.
The initiative is distinguished by four key features:
Multilingual and Multimodal Models: BharatGen will create foundational models that cater to diverse Indian languages and formats.
Bhartiya Dataset: The project will prioritize the development and training of AI systems using India-centric datasets.
Open-Source Platform: BharatGen will promote an open-source ecosystem for generative AI research in India.
Focus on Data Sovereignty: The initiative emphasises collecting and curating data that accurately represents India's linguistic and cultural diversity.