Latest news with #NationalMissiononInterdisciplinaryCyber-PhysicalSystems
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
A mission for a tech-forward future
In India, when we think of flagship missions in science and technology, names like the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) or Digital India come to mind. But over the past six years, another equally ambitious initiative has been quietly laying the foundation for India's future in deep-tech innovation. The National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), launched by the department of science and technology in 2018, has emerged as one of the most transformative efforts in building the nation's cyber-physical infrastructure and capabilities. In a world where technology is the new geopolitical currency, India cannot afford to be a mere consumer. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) This progress has been possible due to the progressive policies and sustained support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over the past 11 years, especially in fostering research, innovation, and deep-tech entrepreneurship in the country. NM-ICPS is not a typical government programme. It did not stop at policy or paperwork. It has built a working ecosystem from scratch. At the heart of NM-ICPS are 25 Technology Innovation Hubs located in some of the country's top academic and R&D institutions. Each of these hubs is focused on a frontier technology area — artificial intelligence, robotics, IoT, quantum tech, cybersecurity, autonomous systems, blockchain, and more. But what sets them apart is not just their focus. It is the integration of research, entrepreneurship, product development, and skills training that makes this mission both unique and scalable. Over 1700 technology products and solutions have been developed under this mission so far. These are not just prototypes sitting on lab shelves. Many are being actively deployed in sectors like healthcare, agriculture, energy, defence, and logistics. Several are aligned with India's national priorities such as food security, public safety, and inclusive digital access. Importantly, these are homegrown technologies—designed in India, for India. Innovation alone, however, is not enough unless it reaches people and markets. That is where the NM-ICPS architecture has shown foresight. More than 900 startups have been supported by the hubs, across domains like drone tech, quantum communication, digital forensics, speech analytics and AI/ML-based diagnostics. These are deep-tech ventures, often started by young graduates and researchers, which would have struggled to find the right support in a conventional system. The mission has also facilitated over 150 international collaborations, opening up new avenues for cross-border technology partnerships. Skill development has been another major pillar. Over 1.6 lakh individuals have been trained through TIH-led programmes in CPS-related domains. These include students, researchers, industry professionals, and even school teachers in some cases. Building a future-ready workforce is essential if India is to stay competitive in these technologies. One of the most significant initiatives last year was the launch of BharatGen, a multilingual, multimodal large language model initiative being developed at IIT Bombay. Unlike generic models that lack context or cultural sensitivity, BharatGen aims to develop foundational AI models grounded in Indian languages, social nuances, and local data ecosystems. This could become a game-changer for inclusive digital public infrastructure and India's AI ambitions. The mission also underwent an independent Third-Party Evaluation recently. Most government schemes shy away from such scrutiny. But NM-ICPS welcomed it. The evaluation team not only affirmed the impact and relevance of the mission but also recommended enhancements in institutional frameworks for faster translation and scale. The assessment also led to the selection of four Technology Innovation Hubs for upgradation into full-fledged Technology Translation Research Parks (TTRPs). These TTRPs — at IIT Indore (digital health), IISc Bangalore (robotics & AI), IIT Kanpur (cybersecurity), and IIT Dhanbad (mining tech) — will serve as national anchors for turning lab innovations into scalable commercial solutions. The selection was based on rigorous performance benchmarks, including translational outcomes, industry linkages, and revenue generation, and the upgradation will empower them with enhanced funding and infrastructure to lead national-level deep-tech innovation efforts. This is a significant leap. India has often struggled to move from lab to market, particularly in hardware-centric and deep-tech areas. These new TTRPs will bridge that gap by integrating research, validation, piloting, standards, and industry partnerships under one roof. Too often, we compare ourselves with Silicon Valley or Tel Aviv and lament the lack of deep-tech innovation in India. But missions such as NM-ICPS show that when the vision is right, when institutions are trusted and when academia is empowered, we can build ecosystems that deliver not just research papers but real impact. This journey is still evolving. More needs to be done to sustain and expand the gains. We need stronger linkages with user ministries, better market access for start-ups, more industry co-investment, and a policy environment that encourages risk-taking. But the foundation has been laid. The institutional architecture is working. The innovations are real. The startups are scaling. And the talent pipeline is growing. In a world where technology is the new geopolitical currency, India cannot afford to be a mere consumer. We need to shape the rules, build the tools, and train the minds that will define this century's technological landscape. The NM-ICPS mission is a bold step in that direction. It deserves greater visibility, deeper support, and sustained momentum. Because in the end, it is not just about creating technology. It is about creating national capacity, confidence, and conviction in our own potential. V Ramgopal Rao is vice-chancellor, BITS Pilani group of institutions, and former director, IIT Delhi. He chairs the Scientific Advisory Committee of NM-ICPS. The views expressed are personal.
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Made in India, Made for India: The new AI model supports 22 regional languages and emphasizes inclusivity, ethics and cultural relevance.
Live Events In a longstanding aim toward extending AI's reach into the deepest corners of the nation, the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh, cuts the ribbon placed in front of 'BharatGen,' India's first indigenously made, government-funded multimodal LLM, at the BharatGen Summit held in New Delhi on Monday. This summit checked another goal in India's path towards an inclusive and ethics centric AI BharatGen AI model was conceived under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NMICPS) and steered by the TIH Foundation for the IoT and IoE at IIT Bombay. It fuses text, speech, and image modalities to deliver solutions in 22 Indian languages. 'We hope our efforts toward creating a sovereign Generative AI ecosystem and milestones such as the release of such LLM model checkpoints, serves as a foundation for India-specific solutions.' said professor Ganesh Ramakrishnan, from IIT Bombay and the lead of BharatGenThis initiative, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), collaborates with leading academic institutions and innovators to create a model that is deemed ethical, inclusive, and multilingual and inculcates innate Indian values and ethos, as described by Dr. the summit, Dr. Singh elucidated the model's potential to transform sectors like healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance by providing solutions that are specific to the region. This multilingual capability of the AI model enables the democratization of superspecialty hospital services to extend into the rural areas of the country via AI-driven telemedicine and doctors communicating to the patients in their native languages. 'This builds trust and has a placebo-like psychological effect, connecting remote regions with superspecialty hospitals.'This model also resonates with (PM) Narendra Modi's vision of 'India's Techade,' along with Dr. Singh emphasizing innovation for inclusion. 'Our goal is not just to build AI models but to provide resources that startups and system integrators can leverage', said professor Ramakrishnan. This statement underlines BharatGen's role as not merely a technology release but a foundational tool for building India-specific AI solutions across Singh also sheds light on the role of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (NRF) in boosting India's R&D ecosystem and highlighted flagship schemes like PM MUDRA Yojana, PM SVANidhi, and PM Vishwakarma Yojana, which support micro-entrepreneurs, artisans, and street summit further celebrated NEP (National Education Policy) 2020 for introducing interdisciplinary learning, enabling students to blend humanities and technology for enhanced employability and innovation. Agri-tech start-ups, including lavender cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir, were recognized as well as proof of innovation thriving beyond the glass windows of urban IT launching of BharatGen is a pivotal moment in the country's AI journey, for it aims to create technology that resonates with the nation's diverse linguistic and cultural interests. By blending AI into various sectors and promoting inclusivity alongside innovation, BharatGen moves toward a goal that strives to build an indestructible bridge that covers the gap between the citizens' empowerment and the digital divide. ( source
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
IIT-M Pravartak keen on recasting R&D playbook
IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation is building market-facing technologies for the benefit of the public. From mentoring startups and collaborating with corporations to supporting cybersecurity systems for government agencies and making rural children curious about mathematics, its work spans a gamut of disciplines. In an interview with TOI, Dr M J Shankar Raman, CEO of Pravartak, spoke about the challenge of translating academic research into real-world applications and what it means to be a non-profit housed at India's top patent-filing academic institution. Excerpts: What does Pravartak Technologies Foundation do? Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, our aim is to take academic research from lab to field. We support entrepreneurship by funding and incubating startups, forging corporate and international R&D partnerships, and bridging the skill gap. Our focus areas include sensors, networking, actuators, big data, machine learning, cybersecurity, and databases. What's your approach to tech development? While IIT-Madras focuses on fundamental research, our goal is to create market-facing solutions. We support startups developing cutting-edge technologies with our subject matter expertise in certain areas. For instance, we assisted Mindgrove (fabless chip startup) in building IoT chips using IIT-M's Shakti microprocessor. Folium, which works on optical fibre-based sensing and SecurWeave, which develops hardware-based platforms to protect critical software. Moreover, we can take up any area with IIT-M's expertise. The idea is to push IIT's research into the mainstream so that it is useful for society. What do you think is your USP? Our incubation extends beyond technological support. We train entrepreneurs in areas such as finance, marketing, help them get customers, connect with venture capitalists (VCs) and handhold them throughout the process. We provide up to Rs 50 lakh funding for our startups. The venture capitalists usually do not fund deep-tech efforts due to the associated risks. This is where organisations like Pravartak can help. We can shoulder some of the risk and help build the customer base, and guide entrepreneurs to pivot based on market realities. In some cases, we hand them to IITMRP for incubation and hope to complement the ecosystem. We also co-develop technologies with companies like Accenture and Samsung, and help firms find domain-specific talent. What are some of your flagship projects? Pravartak Technologies has contributed to real-time translation of parliamentary proceedings into 22 Indian languages, and legal document translation for the Supreme Court, through the Bhashini platform. We work closely with ministries including Defence, Finance, Electronics & IT, and Telecom, giving us experience in translating IP into scalable solutions. I think we have done a commendable job in this. What's your role in skilling? We provide technical skills for both students and working professionals in areas like AI, data analytics, embedded applications, networking. We aim to kindle curiosity in fundamental research among young students by introducing 'Out of the box' programmes focusing on critical thinking in maths. For India to emerge as a key player in innovation, we need to encourage students to understand maths and sciences, not memorise theoretical concepts. We are taking a small step in that. What next? We have raised Rs 300 crore so far, including Rs 170 crore in DST grants. We became self-sufficient as a tech hub well before the mandated five-year window. When you look at R&D in India, there is a lack of private participation and we want to improve this by collaborating more with private institutions. We mentor 40-odd startups out of which six are graduated. We have taken some bold bets from backing efforts to build commercial hyperloop transportation and secure IoT chips and hope to continue this.
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bharat Gen, AI-based multimodal LLM for Indian languages, launched
New Delhi: Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh launched ' Bharat Gen ', an indigenously developed artificial intelligence-based multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) for Indian languages, here on Monday. Developed under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and implemented through TIH Foundation for IoT (Internet of Things) and IoE (Internet of Everything) at IIT Bombay , Bharat Gen aims to revolutionize AI development across India's linguistic and cultural spectrum, Singh said. The initiative is supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and brings together a consortium of leading academic institutions, experts, and innovators. Singh described Bharat Gen as a "national mission to create AI that is ethical, inclusive, multilingual, and deeply rooted in Indian values and ethos". The platform integrates text, speech, and image modalities, offering seamless AI solutions in 22 Indian languages. "This initiative will empower critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance, delivering region-specific AI solutions that understand and serve every Indian," Singh said. The minister recounted a success story from his own constituency Udhampur where an AI doctor communicates fluently in the patient's native language. "It not only builds trust but has a placebo-like psychological effect, enabling better care in remote regions connected with superspeciality hospitals across India," he said. Singh emphasised the transformative role of Generative AI in grassroots governance, citing the integration of multilingual feedback systems into platforms like CPGRAMS to enhance citizen engagement and grievance redressal.
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Business Standard
02-06-2025
- Politics
- Business Standard
Everything to know about Bharat Gen, the AI-based LLM for Indian languages
Union Minister for Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh, launched 'Bharat Gen', an artificial intelligence (AI)-based multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) designed for Indian languages, in New Delhi on Monday. Developed under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and implemented through TIH Foundation for IoT (Internet of Things) and IoE (Internet of Everything) at IIT Bombay, Bharat Gen aims to revolutionise AI development across India's linguistic and cultural spectrum, Singh said. Bharat Gen is backed by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and brings together a consortium of top academic institutions, experts, and innovators to lead AI research and application. Describing the project, Singh said it represents a national-level effort to build AI that is 'ethical, inclusive, multilingual, and deeply rooted in Indian values and ethos.' AI to support healthcare, education, and governance "This initiative will empower critical sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture, and governance, delivering region-specific AI solutions that understand and serve every Indian," Singh said. He also shared a real-life example from his own constituency of Udhampur, where an AI doctor communicates fluently in the patient's native language. "It not only builds trust but has a placebo-like psychological effect, enabling better care in remote regions connected with superspeciality hospitals across India," he explained. Singh highlighted the growing role of Generative AI in governance at the grassroots level, particularly through improved feedback systems in government platforms. "The integration of multilingual feedback systems into platforms like CPGRAMS helps enhance citizen engagement and grievance redressal," he said. What is AI-based multimodal LLM A multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) powered by AI is a highly advanced system that can understand and process various types of input, such as text, images, sound, and video. Unlike traditional language models that work only with text, multimodal models can combine different kinds of data. For example, they can look at an image and answer questions about it or watch a video and describe what's happening. These systems are trained on huge and diverse datasets that include more than just written words, which helps them carry out complex tasks across formats. By using multiple types of input, these models can interact in a way that's more similar to how humans understand the world. This makes them highly effective for practical use in areas like healthcare (such as reading scans and reports), education (like using visuals alongside text to aid learning), and accessibility (for instance, describing images to people with visual impairments). Multimodal LLMs are a big step forward in creating AI that's more adaptable, aware of context, and user-friendly.
