New Delhi | September 19, 2025 | SKY LINK TIMES
India to Launch 500 data labs:
India to Launch 500 data labs to be established accelerating AI Revolution over the country. Union Information and Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw revealed the plan during a pre-event of the upcoming AI Impact Summit 2026, marking a significant milestone in the Centre’s IndiaAI Mission.
The initiative, with an estimated budget of ₹10,300 crore, is designed to strengthen India’s AI ecosystem, build sovereign AI capabilities, and position the country as a global hub for artificial intelligence research and applications.
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Govt Bets Big on Large Language Models
At the heart of the IndiaAI Mission lies the development of a sovereign Large Language Model (LLM)—a generative AI system similar to OpenAI’s GPT but trained with India-centric datasets.
The government has sanctioned ₹988.6 crore to a consortium led by IIT Bombay, named BharatGen, to develop a next-generation LLM with 1 trillion parameters. This would make it one of the most advanced AI models in the world.
Alongside BharatGen, seven other companies, including Tech Mahindra and Fractal Analytics, have been selected to contribute to the LLM and related projects.
Building AI Infrastructure Nationwide
The creation of 500 data labs will provide researchers, startups, and enterprises with access to high-quality datasets—an essential ingredient for AI innovation. These labs will also support sector-specific AI applications in areas like healthcare, agriculture, governance, and education.
Minister Vaishnaw emphasized that sovereign data resources are critical to avoid over-reliance on foreign AI models and to ensure that Indian languages and cultural contexts are well represented in AI systems.
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Skilling and AI Talent Development
In addition to infrastructure, the IndiaAI Mission also prioritizes AI skilling programs aimed at creating a large pool of trained professionals. The initiative aligns with the government’s broader vision of making India not just a consumer of AI technologies, but a global leader in AI research, innovation, and deployment.
Industry & Global Reactions
Experts have welcomed the move as a transformative step in India’s digital strategy. With global competition heating up in AI research, India’s efforts to build sovereign AI capabilities could reduce dependency on Western platforms and create new opportunities for startups, academia, and enterprises.
If successful, the IndiaAI Mission could help India leapfrog into the top tier of AI-driven economies, with significant implications for economic growth, job creation, and technological sovereignty.
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