India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Friday said that the country’s first sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) model is set to be released by the end of the year, marking a major milestone in the country’s efforts to build indigenous AI capabilities.
Though a late entrant in the AI race, with 38,000 GPUs available at just Rs 65 per hour and 12 companies developing foundation models, India aims to launch an Indian Large Language Model (LLM) by year-end, reducing dependence on foreign systems.
Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary MeitY, CEO of IndiaAI and DG-NIC, the IndiaAI Mission approved last year told IANS that the government is addressing key gaps by enabling affordable compute, creating a national data platform, supporting foundation models, advancing AI skilling, and ensuring safe and trustworthy AI.
MeitY hosted a set of pre-summit events for the upcoming India–AI Impact Summit 2026 at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2025 here.
These events mark a pivotal step in the journey toward the India–AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled to be held on February 19–20, 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi.
What did S. Krishnan say?
In the inaugural address, S. Krishnan, Secretary MeitY, said, “We have adopted innovative means by learning from the experiences of others to build viable projects and products that will truly make a difference for us.
“In partnership with the private sector, accessible to the public sector – ensuring a level-playing field for all providers, is both innovative and frugal. It ensures that with the least amount of resources we are able to ensure availability for all. A number of international agencies have also found our approach very appealing, to build a model which can be used for the rest of the global South,” he highlighted.
What was the purpose of the pre-summit?
The pre-summit events brought together leaders from government, industry, academia, and global institutions to explore how AI can drive inclusive, safe, and sustainable growth across the digital and telecom ecosystem.
The discussions reflected India’s vision of leveraging AI for societal good, economic resilience, and inclusive growth, aligning with the upcoming Summit’s theme – “From Action to Impact.”
Participants explored India’s growing AI ecosystem, advances under the IndiaAI Mission, and opportunities for partnerships that democratise AI access and innovation.
The India-AI Impact Summit 2026 will convene global leaders to advance the responsible design, development, and deployment of AI, guided by the sutras of “People, Planet, and Progress”.