New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) has announced an extension of the Phase 3 deadline under the IndiaAI Innovation Initiative, giving applicants time until 22 April this year to submit proposals.
The move comes in response to the high volume of interest from AI startups, research institutions, and innovators aiming to build foundational artificial intelligence models trained on Indian datasets.
Launched on 30 January, the initiative seeks to establish Large Language Models (LLMs), Large Multimodal Models (LMMs), and Small Language Models (SLMs) developed by Indian talent to address the country’s unique linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic landscape.
The programme is part of the broader IndiaAI Mission, which aims to make India a global hub for AI innovation.
During Phase 1, from 30 January to 15 February, 67 proposals were submitted, 22 for LLMs/LMMs and 45 for SLMs. Phase 2, from 16 February to 15 March, saw an even stronger response, with 120 applications received, comprising 36 for LLMs/LMMs and 84 for SLMs.
The ongoing Phase 3, which began on 16 March, has continued to attract a steady flow of applications, prompting authorities to extend the deadline by seven days.
Applications will be accepted until 22 April, after which submissions will be temporarily paused.
The Call for Proposals aims to support Indian entities in creating AI models aligned with global benchmarks but deeply rooted in Indian data, languages, and applications. These models are expected to tackle pressing challenges in areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, and climate change.
Selected proposals will receive support in the form of direct funding, compute credits, or even equity-based investments, based on the maturity of the applicant and project feasibility.
Evaluation criteria include the capability of the development team, approach to model building, data strategy, proposed use cases, ethical considerations, scalability and financial viability. Proposals already under development can also seek support at early, mid, or late stages.
