TLDR: At the NDTV World Summit 2025, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that Bengaluru-based startup Sarvam AI’s indigenous model is set to launch in December 2025 or January 2026. He personally committed to using Sarvam, underscoring India’s significant strides in technology, including 2-nanometer chip design, robust AI compute infrastructure, and the world’s second-largest 5G network. Vaishnaw also touched upon India’s upcoming AI governance framework and its focus on AI safety.
New Delhi – Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, speaking at the prestigious NDTV World Summit 2025, unveiled significant developments in India’s burgeoning technology landscape, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence. The Minister announced that Sarvam AI, a Bengaluru-based startup, is poised to launch its indigenous AI model either in December 2025 or January 2026. Emphasizing his confidence in homegrown innovation, Vaishnaw stated, ‘I’ll start using Sarvam.’
The summit served as a platform for Vaishnaw to detail India’s rapid advancements across several critical technological domains. He highlighted a major breakthrough in semiconductor manufacturing, proudly declaring, ‘We have started designing two nanometer chips in India.’ These 2-nanometer chips represent some of the ‘smallest, most complex’ components globally, aligning with India’s vision for technological self-reliance, or ‘Aatmanirbhar’ technology. Furthermore, he stressed the importance of robust AI compute infrastructure, noting it as a ‘key facet of India’s AI journey,’ and confirmed substantial foreign investments in these facilities.
India’s digital transformation was also underscored by its remarkable progress in telecommunications. Vaishnaw reported that the country’s 5G network now covers approximately 90% of the nation, positioning India as operating the world’s second-largest 5G network. He remarked, ‘India rolled out 5G at a pace that amazed the world. This has helped us reach even the remotest corners of the nation,’ effectively shrinking the digital divide.
While expressing a personal preference to ‘use my own brain’ rather than relying on large language models like Grok or Gemini for his work, Vaishnaw’s endorsement of Sarvam AI signals a strategic push for indigenous AI solutions. The Minister also revealed that India is developing an AI governance framework, slated for release by September 28, 2025. This framework aims to safeguard citizens from the potential harms of AI, including issues arising from synthetic content and deepfakes, and will be ‘non-prescriptive’ in nature.
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Looking ahead, India is set to host the AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, 2026, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This global summit will place a strong emphasis on AI safety and fostering a consensus-based, common global governance framework for AI, building on discussions from previous international AI summits.
