BharatGen is designed to propel the digitally-driven economy of India forward by creating AI that is of world-class quality, yet locally sourced.
(Source: freepik)
By the year 2026, India’s digital outlook could appear radically different. Propelling this transformation is BharatGen, a government-backed initiative that appears to be a tipping point for Indian enterprises and their technology leaders. For CIOs, BharatGen comes across as not just another AI platform but a major change in how Indian businesses can utilize artificial intelligence, designed to meet local requirements, adhere to national regulations, and support large-scale deployment.
Why BharatGen Matters for Indian Enterprises
Globally, the race for AI sovereignty is gathering pace. Nations around the world have realised it is crucial to have a firm grip on both, the technology and the data that underpin their digital economies. Against this backdrop, India has kickstarted its own project – BharatGen – to create core AI models based on Indian data and tailored to the Indian context. A consortium of seven renowned academic institutions, including IITs and IIMs, is at the forefront of this initiative.
“A key differentiator for BharatGen is its focus on Indian data—25% of the training data is sourced from India, ensuring that the models are attuned to local languages, contexts, and sensitivities. While many open-source models exist globally, BharatGen’s models are uniquely positioned to serve Indian needs,” says Aditya Maheshwari, Associate Professor, IIM Indore and a key member of the BharatGen consortium.
Real-World Impact: Use Cases That Matter
BharatGen is not just a research project; it is already delivering real-world value through several tools.
For example, the Citizen Grievance Redressal is an AI-powered application that makes it easier for people to find their way around government departments and file grievances. This speeds up the delivery of public services.
The Citizen Grievance Redressal, for instance, is an AI-powered tool that helps citizens navigate government departments and file complaints more efficiently, streamlining public service delivery.
Shopkeepers may quickly make product descriptions from pictures using the Vision Foundation Model. This is great for e-commerce and retail, and it is available on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
With Document VQA, businesses may ask questions about scanned business documents, get information from old paperwork, and automate compliance processes.
BharatGen’s models support translation and accessibility, partnering with institutions like IGNOU and projects such as Udan.
“BharatGen is designed as a public good, offering accessible, affordable, and business-oriented AI research. Pricing and access are tailored to the use case, whether for business, critical infrastructure, or defence. The initiative actively partners with defence, banking, education, state governments, and industry, creating a collaborative ecosystem for innovation,” says Maheshwari.
BharatGen’s impact on Indian enterprises
The initiative is a compelling proposition for enterprise IT leaders. It offers Indian IT leaders access to versatile and robust AI models that adhere to Indian ethical guidelines and comply with national data protection standards. Several sectors, specifically BFSI, healthcare and manufacturing where data sovereignty and localisation are top priorities, stand to gain the most from it.
K V Dipu, Senior President, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, says, “As a head of digital transformation, I see this as India’s ChatGPT moment—with a desi twist. At Bajaj Allianz General Insurance (BAGIC), we service customers across 800+ cities. With BharatGen trained on Indic scripts, voice bots, chatbots, and AI agents can now speak the language of the land—literally. Imagine our WhatsApp bot assisting a farmer in Bundelkhand in Bundeli, or helping a senior citizen in Konkani navigate a health claim without switching to English.”
“Current FNOL (FNOL bots, or First Notice of Loss bots, are AI-powered chatbots designed to streamline the initial stage of an insurance claim process) bots are mostly bilingual. BharatGen can enable voice-to-text auto-claim lodgement in 10+ Indian languages, reducing turnaround time and enhancing CX for Tier 2–4 customers. For instance, a policyholder in Sikkim narrates a motor accident in Nepali, and the system files a claim in real-time,” he says..
With BharatGen being fine-tuned on government-grade datasets, the factual grounding is higher than generalized models. This is critical in the insurance industry wherein accuracy in policy terms and claims narration is a given and a bedrock for compliance, customer trust, and cost optimization.
Dipu says, “As a digital transformation head, our nightmare is PII leakage. BharatGen being hosted within India and governed by Indian laws addresses one of our biggest security concerns—especially for sectors like BFSI, where data localization is not just desirable but regulatory.
Sudhir Kanvinde, CIO, Supreme Industries says, “BharatGen is part of India's push to become a global leader in generative AI, similar to its success with UPI. Aligning my company strategy with BharatGen's capabilities can help to stay ahead in compliance, innovation, and public-private collaboration.”
He says, “BharatGen is designed as a public good, allowing CIOs to leverage open-source models for cost-effective AI adoption. The initiative includes fellowships, hackathons, and courses to build AI talent . CIOs can upskill teams using BharatGen resources, recruit from a growing pool of AI-ready professionals , and contribute to curriculum development and mentorship .
BharatGen can unlock several impactful use cases for manufacturing enterprises, especially
those operating in India or serving Indian markets. By combining sensor data (images, audio, text logs) with BharatGen’s multimodal capabilities to detect anomalies, manufacturing organisations can minimize downtime, extend equipment life, and reduce maintenance costs, according to Kanvinde.
“By leveraging the Intelligent Document Processing, we can automate extraction and understanding of technical manuals, compliance documents, and supplier contracts in multiple languages, thereby speeding up onboarding, audits, and procurement processes,” he says.
A Platform for Collaboration and Growth
By 2026, BharatGen aims to have a robust portfolio of models tailored for diverse Indian industries, making high-quality, sovereign AI accessible to all,” says Maheshwari.
For enterprise IT leaders, aligning with BharatGen is not just about embracing new technology, it is about driving innovation, ensuring compliance and shaping the future of Indian enterprise in a fast-changing digital world.
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