TLDR: India is making significant strides in artificial intelligence, aiming to launch its own sovereign AI model by early 2026 and become an AI superpower by 2030. The nation is rapidly scaling its compute infrastructure, fostering indigenous AI development, and focusing on skill enhancement across its workforce, with a strong emphasis on inclusive and sector-specific AI solutions.
India is rapidly positioning itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence, with ambitious plans to launch its own sovereign AI model by February 2026. This initiative, announced by Electronics and IT Secretary S. Krishnan at the India Mobile Congress 2025, underscores the nation’s commitment to indigenous AI development and its goal of becoming an AI superpower by 2030.
The country has already demonstrated remarkable progress in building its AI infrastructure, deploying 38,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) against an initial target of 10,000. This significant enhancement in compute power is a cornerstone of India’s strategy to develop foundational models entirely within the country. Krishnan confirmed that India expects to have its first foundational model ready by the end of 2025, with the sovereign model slated for launch before the India AI Impact Summit 2026, scheduled for February 19-20.
A key aspect of India’s AI strategy is its focus on inclusivity and data sovereignty. The sovereign AI model will be trained exclusively on Indian datasets and hosted on Indian servers. The government is actively supporting 12 domestic firms, with expectations that at least two will have their foundational models prepared by year-end. This approach aims to develop ‘smaller, sector-specific models’ that can meaningfully enhance productivity across various non-tech sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, and sustainable cities.
The enthusiasm for AI within India’s workforce is notable. While specific figures for ‘four out of five professionals wanting to learn AI skills’ were not directly found in recent reports, the sentiment is strongly supported by broader trends. A report by NTT DATA indicates that 84% of Indian C-suite executives anticipate major transformations in 2025 due due to generative AI integration, highlighting a widespread recognition of AI’s impact. This aligns with the government’s emphasis on skill development, with the Union Budget 2025 allocating funds for five new National Centres of Excellence for AI skilling and Microsoft India partnering to train 500,000 people by 2026.
Investments in AI are substantial, with ₹20,000 crore earmarked for Research and Development, including ₹500 crore for a new Centre of Excellence in AI for education. The ‘AI for India 2030’ initiative, launched in January 2025, is further bolstered by a $1.25 billion USD investment in AI projects as part of the India AI mission. This mission, established in 2024, aims to promote AI innovation, democratize its benefits across all sectors, and solidify India’s position as a global AI leader.
Global AI players are also taking note of India’s burgeoning AI ecosystem. Anthropic, the company behind Claude AI, is establishing its first India office in Bengaluru by early 2026, citing India’s vast technical talent pool and the government’s commitment to inclusive AI. Furthermore, the India Mobile Congress 2025 saw the launch of KOGO OS, the world’s first fully private Agentic Operating System for enterprises, co-developed by KOGO AI and Qualcomm. This system, designed for regulated industries like BFSI, healthcare, and defense, marks India’s entry into sovereign AI infrastructure, shifting the national narrative from AI consumption to innovation.
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Despite the rapid advancements, concerns about the impact of AI on employment, particularly high-value intellectual work, are being acknowledged. However, India’s strategy emphasizes using AI to solve large-scale national problems, such as potentially boosting agricultural yields by 20-30%, and ensuring that AI benefits reach all segments of society, thereby reducing disparities. With 20% of the world’s AI and machine learning engineers hailing from India, the nation possesses a formidable talent pool to drive its ambitious AI agenda forward.
