Blitz Bureau
‘BHARATGEN,’ India’s first indigenously developed, Government-funded, multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) designed for Indian languages, was unveiled at the BharatGen Summit on June 2. Held as India’s largest Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and LLM summit and hackathon, the event marked a milestone in India’s journey toward inclusive and ethical AI innovation.
Developed under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and led by the TIH Foundation for IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay, BharatGen integrates text, speech, and image modalities to deliver AI solutions in 22 Indian languages. Supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the initiative collaborates with leading academic institutions and innovators to create AI that is “ethical, inclusive, multilingual, and deeply rooted in Indian values and ethos,” as described by Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology Jitendra Singh.
Speaking at the summit, Singh emphasised BharatGen’s potential to transform sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance by providing region-specific AI solutions. Highlighting a success story from his constituency, he shared how AI-powered telemedicine, with doctors communicating in patients’ native languages, has revolutionised healthcare in remote villages. “This builds trust and has a placebo-like psychological effect, connecting remote regions with super-speciality hospitals,” he said.
Singh aligned BharatGen with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “India’s Techade,” emphasizing innovation for inclusion. He cited India’s AI-driven grievance redressal system, CPGRAMS, as a global benchmark studied by several countries.
