India eyes open source, homegrown AI amid access curbs on frontier models

India is pursuing a strategy of focusing on open-source artificial intelligence models as well as homegrown ones while supporting local developers to build more advanced systems, a senior IT Ministry official said on Tuesday as global concerns mount over access restrictions on some frontier AI models.

Citing national security concerns, the US has tightened access to advanced frontier AI technologies that has prompted a debate in tech circles and the larger public on questions of equitable access, innovation, and global AI development.

Asked about the steps being taken by the IT Ministry to ensure India is not left vulnerable in future as a result of access restrictions, the official said that while frontier models are 100 per cent capable, there are "other options" one can look at.


Declining to comment on Washington's tighter controls on frontier AI models from leading US tech companies, the official said India's own strategy is to back indigenous AI development while making use of open-source models that are capable of handling a chunk of frontier AI models' functions and workload capabilities.

"Clearly there are some capabilities that AI technology has, especially in the cybersecurity space, in terms of testing of vulnerabilities of existing software code which are useful and which we need to have the capacity to do it...our strategy is two-fold. One, that while the frontier model may be 100 per cent capable, there are various other options, both open source models and Indian models, which are being developed, which are probably 60-70-80 per cent capable viz the frontier models. So there is a fair amount of work, which can be done with existing both open source models and Indian models," the official said.

Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government is supporting the development of 20 Indian AI models and will continue working with developers to improve their capabilities and help narrow the gap with leading systems.

The official further said that India's approach to artificial intelligence is focused on creating tangible economic impact and not be driven by stock market excitement around AI companies.

The recent fluctuations in global AI-related stocks should be viewed in perspective, the official said, noting that valuation and the optimism around massive AI investments have largely been driven by a handful of companies involved in advanced chips, models and infrastructure, which in turn reflected on the stock markets.

India looks at AI from the lens of impact and outcome delivery.

"We want to be the country which delivers AI impact on the real sectors of the economy. Ultimately that is where the monetisation of AI, benefits of AI will happen, in terms of how the productivity and efficiency of the real sectors of the economy rise...and that is a story which truly has a great potential," the official added.