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Mahesh

01/10/24 10:39 AM IST

Launch of BharatGen: The first Government-funded Multimodal Large Language Model Initiative

In News
  • India recently launched BharatGen, an initiative to make generative AI available to citizens in different Indian languages.
BharatGen
  • Spearheaded by IIT Bombay under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the initiative will create generative AI systems that can generate high-quality text and multimodal content in various Indian languages.
  • BharatGen will deliver generative AI models and their applications as a public good by prioritizing India's socio-cultural and linguistic diversity.
  • It strives to address India’s broader needs such as social equity, cultural preservation, and linguistic diversity, while ensuring that generative AI reaches all segments of society.
  • BharatGen is aligned with the goal of making AI accessible to all citizens, using AI not only for industrial and commercial purposes but also to address national priorities like cultural preservation and inclusive technology development.
  • The four key distinguishing features of BharatGen are the multilingual and multimodal nature of foundation models; Bhartiya data set based building, and training; open-source platform and development of an ecosystem of generative AI research in the country.
  • The project is expected to be completed in two years along with plans to benefit several government, private, educational, and research institutions.
  • BharatGen will cater to both text and speech, ensuring coverage across India’s diverse linguistic landscape.
  • By training on multilingual datasets, it will deeply capture the nuances of Indian languages, which are often underrepresented in global AI models.
  • Further, unlike models that rely on global datasets, BharatGen focuses on developing processes for collecting and curating India-centric data, ensuring that the country’s diverse languages, dialects, and cultural contexts are accurately represented.
  • This emphasis on data sovereignty strengthens India’s control over its digital resources and narrative. 
Significance
  • BharatGen aligns with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat by creating foundational AI models specifically tailored for India.
  • By developing AI technologies within India, BharatGen reduces reliance on foreign technologies and strengthens the domestic AI ecosystem for startups, industries, and government agencies.
  • Democratizing access to AI through foundational models and detailed technical recipes it allows innovators, researchers, and startups to build AI applications quickly and affordably.
  • A core feature of BharatGen is its focus on data-efficient learning, particularly for Indian languages with limited digital presence.
  • Through fundamental research and collaboration with academic institutions, the initiative will develop models that are effective with minimal data—a critical need for languages underserved by global AI initiatives.
  • BharatGen will also foster a vibrant AI research community through training programs, hackathons, and collaborations with global experts.
Source- PIB

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