Lok Sabha Question No. 5121 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-04-02
Subject: AI Safety Institute
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Shri Eatala Rajender, Smt. D K Aruna

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5121

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 02.04.2025

## AI SAFETY INSTITUTE

## 5121.   SHRI EATALA RAJENDER: SMT. D K ARUNA:

Will  the  Minister  of  ELECTRONICS  AND  INFORMATION  TECHNOLOGY  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether India's Artificial Intelligence (AI) ambitions took a significant leap forward and also the  country  would  launch  an  indigenous  AI  model  and  establish  an  AI  Safety  Institute  (AISI) under the Safe and Trusted Pillar of the India AI Mission; and

(b) if so, the details and the present status thereof along with funds sanctioned and spent therefor during the last three years in the States especially Telangana and Andhra Pradesh?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI JITIN PRASADA)

(a) and(b): The Government of India emphasizes the concept of 'AI for All ,' aligning with the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision to democratise use of technology. Government is committed to harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for the good of our people in sectors like healthcare, agriculture and education while mitigating risks associated with AI deployment.

In order to promote adoption of AI in the country, Union Cabinet led by Hon'ble Prime Minister has approved the IndiaAI Mission on 7 th March 2024, a strategic initiative to establish a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem that aligns with the country's development  goals. This mission is driven by a vision to position India as a  global leader in artificial  intelligence  by  focusing  on seven foundational pillars:  IndiaAI Compute, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, IndiaAI  Innovation  Centre,  IndiaAI  Datasets  Platform,  IndiaAI  Applications  Development Initiative and Safe & Trusted AI.

Government  is  promoting  development  of  indigenous Large  Multimodal  Models  (LMMs) trained  on  India-specific  data  under  IndiaAI  Innovation  Centre  and  setting  up AI  Safety Institute (AISI) under Safe & Trusted AI pillar of IndiaAI Mission.

## IndiaAI Innovation Centre:

-  A Call for Proposals has been launched on 30 th January, 2025 under this pillar to support the development of foundational AI models , inviting startups, researchers, and entrepreneurs to collaborate on creating state-of-the-art AI models using Indian datasets. This initiative aims

to  establish  indigenous  AI  models,  which  can  be  Large  Multimodal  Models,  Large Language Models (LLM), or Small Language Models (SLM) ,  to  address  India-specific challenges  across  various  sectors.  A  total  of 187  proposals aimed  at  building  India's foundation  models,  with  contributions  from  both  established  startups  and  new  teams  of researchers & academia have been received till March 15.

## Safe & Trusted AI:

-  Under the Safe and Trusted Pillar of the IndiaAI Mission, IndiaAI Safety Institute has been launched to address AI risks & Safety Challenges. The Institute will be set up on a hub  and  spoke  model with  various  research  and  academic  institutions,  private  sector partners joining the hub and taking up projects under the Safe and Trusted Pillar of IndiaAI Mission.
-  This  pillar  also  enables  the  implementation  of  Responsible  AI  projects  including  the development of indigenous tools and frameworks, self-assessment checklists for innovators,  and  other  guidelines  and  governance  frameworks.  In  this  regard, eight Responsible AI Projects have  been selected to address the need for robust guardrails to ensure  the  responsible  development,  deployment,  and  adoption  of  AI  technologies.  The projects  cover  a  range  of  critical  themes,  including  Machine  Unlearning,  Synthetic  Data Generation,  AI Bias Mitigation,  Ethical  AI  Frameworks,  Privacy-Enhancing  Tools, Explainable AI, AI Governance Testing, and Algorithm Auditing Tools. The details of the selected projects are given at Appendix I .
-  Expressions of Interest has been invited for responsible AI projects in the themes such as Watermarking & Labelling, Ethical AI Frameworks, AI Risk Assessment & Management, Stress Testing Tools, and Deepfake Detection Tools to ensure the responsible development, deployment, and adoption of AI technologies. A total of 420 proposals have been received.

In addition, the details of other pillars of IndiaAI Mission are as follows:

## IndiaAI Applications Development Initiative:

-  IndiaAI Application Development Initiative aims to develop, scale, and promote the adoption of impactful AI solutions to effectively tackle significant problem statements.
-  IndiaAI  Innovation  challenge  was  launched  on  13th  August  2024  for  the  themes  of healthcare,  agriculture,  improved  governance,  climate  change  &  disaster  management  and assistive technologies for learning disabilities. The Innovation Challenge was open to Indian innovators, startups, non-profits, students, academic/R&D organizations, and companies. A total of 900 applications have been received across the five focus areas by the deadline of 30th  September.  Following  a  rigorous  evaluation  process, 30  AI  solutions  have  been shortlisted for  the next stage across three stages of maturity: Idea, Prototype, and Existing Solutions.  The  AI  solutions  at idea  stage  have  been  supported  by  Rs.  5  Lakh and  the solutions at prototype & solution stage have been supported by Rs. 25 Lakh . Among the selected teams, one team of Telangana named Moskeet AI has been shortlisted . The details of shortlisted AI solutions are given at Appendix II .
-  CyberGuard AI Hackathon was launched on 17th October 2024 for Cybercrime prevention in collaboration  with  the  Indian  Cybercrime  Coordination  Centre  (I4C)  and  in  response  263

responses  have  been  received.  Shortlisted  20  teams  participated  in  3  days  hackathon  and currently, top 3 teams are being evaluated.

## IndiaAI Compute:

-  IndiaAI  compute  pillar  envisions  building  a  high-end  scalable  AI  computing  ecosystem comprising AI compute infrastructure of 10,000 or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).
-  Applications were invited for Empanelment of Agencies for providing AI services on Cloud on 16th August 2024. 19 bidders had submitted proposals to empanel their AI cloud services, out of which 10 bidders have been empaneled. Against the target of 10,000 GPUs outlined in the IndiaAI compute pillar, empanelled bidders have offered 14,517 GPUs at L1 rates . The average  L1  rate  discovered  for  the  GPUs  is Rs.  115  per  GPU  hour .  Additionally,  the Government would support eligible end users to the extent of 40% of the AI compute cost.
-  To keep pace with the changes in technologies, IndiaAI enabled a continuous empanelment process inviting fresh proposals from the empaneled agencies for onboarding new GPUs and discovering any revised rates.

## IndiaAI FutureSkills:

-  IndiaAI FutureSkills Pillar envisions to augment the number of graduates, post-graduate and PhDs in AI domain. Further, it envisions setting up Data and AI Labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India, to impart foundational-level courses in Data and AI.
-  IndiaAI Fellowships are awarded to students pursuing relevant undergraduate and postgraduate programs at Private or Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs) recognized  by  AICTE,  NBA,  NAAC,  or  UGC.  So  far, 150  undergraduate  students,  48 postgraduate students, and 3 PhD scholars have been selected for the fellowship. A total of  13  students  from  Telangana  (11  B.Tech  and  2  M.Tech)  have  been  selected  for  the IndiaAI Fellowship.
-  A model IndiaAI Data Lab in the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (NIELIT's), Delhi has been set up, which acts as a reference point for the infrastructure to be set up in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as a part of the initiative.
-  All the 36 States and Union Territories (UTs) have been requested to submit their nominated list of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)/Polytechnics located in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities for setting up of Data Labs. The list of 9 Govt. ITIs from Andhra Pradesh and 5 Govt. ITIs from Telangana have been shared by the respective states for setting up the IndiaAI Data Labs.  Additionally,  IndiaAI  in  collaboration  with  NIELIT  would  establish  27  data  labs  in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country, details of which are placed at Appendix III .

## IndiaAI Datasets Platform:

-  The  IndiaAI  Datasets  Platform  (IDP)  seeks  to  enhance  access,  quality,  and  utilization  of public sector datasets  to  make  them  AI-ready.  The  IDP  aims  to  function  as  a  unified  data platform,  integrating  datasets  from  all  existing  data  platforms  as  well  as  onboarding  nongovernment data contributors and providing new-age AI-centric features
-  To provide a unified portal for seamless access to datasets, tools and AI models ,  AIKosh: IndiaAI Datasets Platform has been launched. AIKosh is a secured platform that provides a repository  of  datasets,  models  and  use  cases  to  enable  AI  innovation.  It  also  features  AI sandbox  capabilities  through  an  integrated  development  environment  along  with  tools  and tutorials. The platform is equipped with the features like content discoverability, AI readiness scoring of datasets, permission-based access & security mechanisms like data encryption at rest and in motion, secure API, and firewalls for real-time filtering of malicious traffic.
-  At present the platform offers a comprehensive collection of resources for AI development, featuring  over 300  datasets sourced  from  more  than  10  entities  across  12  sectors.  It  also includes more than 150 AI models provided by 5 different entities,  alongside  a  library  of over  5  use  cases  that  demonstrate  potential  applications  using  the  available  datasets  and models.  Additionally,  the  platform  provides  over 10  toolkits comprising  development utilities for project integration, as well as tutorials to help users understand and navigate its features.

## IndiaAI Startup Financing:

-  IndiaAI Startup Financing pillar is to provide support to AI startups at all stages. Multiple rounds  of  stakeholder  consultations  have  been  held  to  deliberate  on  the  scheme  for supporting AI Startups at Pre-Seed, Seed and Growth stage.
-  In  collaboration  with  STATION  F  and  HEC  Paris,  the  IndiaAI  Mission  has  launched  an acceleration program for Indian AI startups. This four-month immersive program (1 month online, 3 months onsite at STATION F in Paris) at the world's largest startup campus will provide  10  selected  AI  startups  with  access  to  mentorship,  networking,  and  global  market expansion  opportunities  in  Europe.  A  total  of 143  applications have  been  received  from Indian startups for participation in the acceleration program.

*******

## APPENDIX I

## The details of the selected projects under 'Safe & Trusted AI' Pillar are as under:

| NAME OFTHE THEME                   | SELECTEDAPPLICANT                                                                 | TITLE OFTHE PROJECT                                                                                                                                                               |
|------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Machine Unlearning                 | IIT Jodhpur                                                                       | Machine Unlearning in Generative Foundation Models                                                                                                                                |
| Synthetic Data Generation          | IIT Roorkee                                                                       | Design and Development of Method for Generating Synthetic Data for Mitigating Bias in Datasets; and Framework for Mitigating Bias in Machine Learning Pipeline for Responsible AI |
| AI Bias Mitigation Strategy        | National Institute of Technology Raipur                                           | Development of Responsible Artificial Intelligence for Bias Mitigation in Health Care Systems                                                                                     |
| Explainable AI Framework           | DIAT Pune and Mindgraph Technology Pvt. Ltd.                                      | Enabling Explainable and Privacy Preserving AI for Security                                                                                                                       |
| Privacy Enhancing Strategy         | IIT Delhi, IIIT Delhi, IIT Dharwad and Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC) | Robust Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning Models                                                                                                                                 |
| AI Ethical Certification Framework | IIIT Delhi and Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC)                         | Tools for assessing fairness of AI model                                                                                                                                          |
| AI Algorithm Auditing Tool         | Civic Data Labs Pvt. Ltd.                                                         | ParakhAI - An open-source framework and toolkit for Participatory Algorithmic Auditing                                                                                            |
| AI Governance Testing Framework    | Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham and Telecommunication Engineering Center (TEC)         | Track-LLM, Transparency, Risk Assessment, Context & Knowledge for Large Language Models                                                                                           |

## Appendix II

## The details of shortlisted AI solution under IndiaAI Application Development Initiative are as under:

|   Sl.No. | Name of the Solution                                                                                | Solution Description                                                                                                                                  | Stage    | Team Name                               | Theme       |
|----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|-----------------------------------------|-------------|
|        1 | Promoting regenerative agriculture practices for a sustainable future using AI                      | In-house developedMRV (Measurement, Reporting, and Verification) technology designed to ensure the integrity and quality of generated carbon credits. | Solution | Varaha ClimateAG Private Limited        | Agriculture |
|        2 | Krishi Sah'AI'yak - Farming Co-pilot                                                                | AI-powered conversational co-pilot to provide personalized advisory to farmers in Indic languages                                                     | Solution | Samagra Development Associates Pvt. Ltd | Agriculture |
|        3 | Kadalcompass - We Amplify the voice of water using Hydro- AI,Underwatercom,IoUT with Sensor Network | 5G-enabled device that transforms fishing practices using AI, IoUT, and advanced communication technologies                                           | Solution | Innogle Technologies Pvt LTD            | Agriculture |
|        4 | KissanCopilot Multilingual Multimodal personalized AI Assistant for small holder farmers            | Powered by Dhenu's vertical LLM for agriculture, provides personalized agricultural advisory services to                                              | Solution | Titodi Infotech Pvt Ltd                 | Agriculture |

| Sl.No.   | Name of the Solution                                                            | Solution Description                                                                                                                                                          | Stage      | Team Name                      | Theme       |
|----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|--------------------------------|-------------|
|          |                                                                                 | smallholder farmers.                                                                                                                                                          |            |                                |             |
| 5        | Rapid, chemical-free soil testing solution using NIR Spectroscopy& AI/ML models | End-to-end soil testing approach leverages an offline app, AI- powered spectral device, and ML models to deliver timely, chemical-free soil analysis.                         | Solution   | Neoperk Technologies           | Agriculture |
| 6        | AI deep-tech driven quality assessment of Maize                                 | SAAS platform to provide objective quality assessment of maize including price estimation &sales pipelining.                                                                  | Solution   | RootsGoods (OPC) Pvt. Ltd.     | Agriculture |
| 7        | AI-Driven Live Fish Logistics and Mortality Reduction in Aquaculture            | AI-driven solution that optimizes aquaculture operations                                                                                                                      | Solution   | Shuvoneel Ras System Pvt. Ltd. | Agriculture |
| 8        | QScan                                                                           | AI-powered IoT solution that captures critical data throughout the fresh produce lifecycle, providing real- time analysis of food quality and actionable insights to sellers. | ⁠Prototype | Qzense Labs Pvt Ltd            | Agriculture |

|   Sl.No. | Name of the Solution                                                                   | Solution Description                                                                                                                | Stage      | Team Name                                                       | Theme      |
|----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------|------------|
|        9 | Heatwave Resilience: Integrating AI-based Advanced Forecasting for Extreme Heat Events | Integrates AI- based climate forecasting with health data to develop a targeted risk classification system for heat- health impacts | Idea       | I-Hub for Robotics and Autonomous Systems Innovation Foundation | Climate    |
|       10 | Multi-Hazard Susceptibility Mapping                                                    | hazard management system topredict Landslides, Debris Flows and Flash Floods                                                        | ⁠Prototype | Jarbits Pvt Ltd                                                 | Climate    |
|       11 | DeepFlood: Rapid flood inundation mapping using Vision Transformers and Satellite Data | Advanced flood inundation mapping tool using SAR data and deep learning models for real-time, automated flood detection             | ⁠Prototype | Indian Institute of Technology Delhi                            | Climate    |
|       12 | ⁠Moskeet: Climate impact on mosquito-borne diseases                                    | AI-powered platform integrates real- time climate data with mosquito tracking to predict and prevent disease outbreaks.             | ⁠Prototype | Moskeet AI                                                      | Climate    |
|       13 | End to End AI Cloud Platform for Radiology Diagnosis                                   | AI cloud platform for radiology diagnosis, integrating innovative technologies such as CV,                                          | Solution   | Endimension Technology Pvt. Ltd.                                | Healthcare |

| Sl.No.   | Name of the Solution                                                                             | Solution Description                                                                                                    | Stage     | Team Name                      | Theme      |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|--------------------------------|------------|
|          |                                                                                                  | GenAI, NLP, Dicom, mobile, and cloud computing                                                                          |           |                                |            |
| 14       | NIDAAN (iNtegrated lung health screening &tuberculosIs Detection through Ai At National scale)   | qXR, an advanced AI tool for interpreting chest X-rays (CXR), detects &localizes 30+ findings.                          | Solution  | Qure.ai Technologies Pvt. Ltd. | Healthcare |
| 15       | Impactful AI solution, preventing preventable blindness, for socio- economic transformation.     | early detection of vision threatening retinal abnormalities                                                             | Solution  | Artelus                        | Healthcare |
| 16       | AI Powered Wearable Technology for Detection &Diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Joint Health Pain.    | AI Enabled Hardware Platform for Joint Pain Diagnostics and Rehabilitation Segments of Healthcare                       | Solution  | Startoon Labs Private Limited  | Healthcare |
| 17       | VoxelBox                                                                                         | Neuro- informatics platform that allows to map the functional maps / connectomics of the human brain                    | Prototype | BrainSight Technology Pvt Ltd  | Healthcare |
| 18       | Development of Ocellux: An AI-Based Solution for Enhanced Early Diabetic Eye Screening in INDIA. | Portable, affordable and highly accessible retina imaging device powered by AI for early detection of eye diseases like | Prototype | Anself Dynamics Pvt. Ltd.      | Healthcare |

| Sl.No.   | Name of the Solution                                                                | Solution Description                                                                                                                                                                                        | Stage     | Team Name             | Theme                 |
|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
|          |                                                                                     | Diabetic Retinopathy, AMD& Glaucoma                                                                                                                                                                         |           |                       |                       |
| 19       | Revolutionizing healthcare using doctor- led AI                                     | AI-powered personal doctor available 24x7 and free of cost, designed to assist people when they are sick, monitor their health through wearables, and act as a health coach to prevent diseases.            | Prototype | Jivi Health Pvt. Ltd. | Healthcare            |
| 20       | AI/ML enabled MafPro device platform for cancer staging, localization, and margins. | MafPro handheld detector provides a radiation-free, non-invasive, safe and cost- effective solution that can reliably detect and adequately evaluate metastases in lymph nodes using AI/ML based algorithms | Prototype | SIAMAF Healthcare     | Healthcare            |
| 21       | Readabled (Online Dyslexia Training)                                                | web-based application designed to help children with dyslexia improve phonetic awareness                                                                                                                    | ⁠Existing | Hermit Labs Pvt. Ltd. | Learning disabilities |

| Sl.No.   | Name of the Solution                                                               | Solution Description                                                                                                                            | Stage      | Team Name                                   | Theme                 |
|----------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|---------------------------------------------|-----------------------|
|          |                                                                                    | through interactive exercises.                                                                                                                  |            |                                             |                       |
| 22       | Voice fusion AI                                                                    | AI application to provide assistive support to individuals with SLDs in multiple Indian languages                                               | ⁠Prototype | PerpetualBlock Technologies Private Limited | Learning disabilities |
| 23       | ScreenPlay - a digital game based screening tool for autism and related disorders. | Digital, game- based screening tool designed to identify children aged 3 to 6 who may be at risk for autism or related developmental conditions | ⁠Existing  | Kidaura Innovations Pvt Ltd                 | Learning disabilities |
| 24       | Jiveesha                                                                           | AI-powered diagnostic platform for early detection of SLDs                                                                                      | Idea       | Daira Edtech Private Limited                | Learning disabilities |
| 25       | Adaptive Learning and Detection for SLDs                                           | Advanced AI techniques to detect Specific Learning Disabilities (SLDs) such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.                           | ⁠Prototype | Narottam Innovations Pvt. Ltd.              | Learning disabilities |
| 26       | Special Educator AI                                                                | AI-driven system designed to address India's shortage of special educators and                                                                  | Idea       | Banyan Intelligence Private Limited         | Learning disabilities |

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| Sl.No.   | Name of the Solution                 | Solution Description                                                                                                                                                                                          | Stage      | Team Name                                | Theme      |
|----------|--------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|------------------------------------------|------------|
|          |                                      | support children with SLDs.                                                                                                                                                                                   |            |                                          |            |
| 27       | ConvoZen.AI by NoBroker Technologies | AI-powered conversational platform that automates customer engagement across channels like chat, voice, email, and social media, offering fast, personalized, and multilingual support.                       | Solution   | Nobroker Technologies Solutions Pvt. Ltd | Governance |
| 28       | AI contact center                    | AI-powered technologies like machine translation, NLP, ASR and TTS, and multilingual voice recognition to enhance governance by improving communication and accessibility across India's linguistic diversity | Solution   | Devnagri AI Pvt. Ltd                     | Governance |
| 29       | Adalat AI: AI solutions for Courts   | AI-powered platform provides real- time multilingual transcription, translation, live case flow                                                                                                               | ⁠Prototype | Legsys.AI Technology Foundation          | Governance |

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|   Sl.No. | Name of the Solution   | Solution Description                                                                                                                                                                                              | Stage    | Team Name                   | Theme      |
|----------|------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------|-----------------------------|------------|
|       30 | Gov.Civis.Vote         | chatbots to streamline courtroom operations AI-powered Digital Public Infrastructure designed to transform public consultations in India by making citizen engagement more inclusive, scalable, and comprehensive | Solution | Civic Innovation Foundation | Governance |

## Appendix III

## List of Data & AI labs planned by IndiaAI in collaboration with NIELIT in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country:

|   S.No. | NIELIT Centre   | State/UT          |
|---------|-----------------|-------------------|
|       1 | Gorakhpur       | Uttar Pradesh     |
|       2 | Lucknow         | Uttar Pradesh     |
|       3 | Shimla          | Himachal Pradesh  |
|       4 | Aurangabad      | Maharashtra       |
|       5 | Patna           | Bihar             |
|       6 | Buxar           | Bihar             |
|       7 | Muzaffarpur     | Bihar             |
|       8 | Kurukshetra     | Haryana           |
|       9 | Ropar           | Punjab            |
|      10 | Haridwar        | Uttarakhand       |
|      11 | Bikaner         | Rajasthan         |
|      12 | Tezpur          | Assam             |
|      13 | Bhubaneswar     | Odisha            |
|      14 | Calicut         | Kerala            |
|      15 | Guwahati        | Assam             |
|      16 | Itanagar        | Arunachal Pradesh |
|      17 | Srinagar        | J&K               |
|      18 | Jammu           | J&K               |
|      19 | Ranchi          | Jharkhand         |
|      20 | Imphal          | Manipur           |
|      21 | Gangtok         | Sikkim            |
|      22 | Agartala        | Tripura           |
|      23 | Aizawl          | Mizoram           |
|      24 | Shillong        | Meghalaya         |
|      25 | Kohima          | Nagaland          |
|      26 | Leh             | Ladakh            |
|      27 | Silchar         | Assam             |

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