Executive Director Venkat Lakshminarasimha Talks AI on Beyond the Headline

In a recent discussion featured in the video titled “India Unveils Mega ‘Desi AI’ Plan; Ready To ‘BYTE’ Back at Giants?” published on February 3, 2025, Dexian’s Executive Director, Venkat Lakshminarasimha, delved into India’s ambitious plans to develop indigenous artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

Lakshminarasimha emphasized that India is making a bold move in artificial intelligence (AI) by developing its own indigenous AI ecosystem tailored to the country’s unique needs. The focus is on creating India-specific Large Language Models (LLMs) rather than relying on Western AI frameworks like ChatGPT, which lack deep understanding and training in Indian languages.

A key example cited in the discussion is an AI tool developed for farmers in Bihar that translates Bhojpuri into English before feeding it into an LLM for processing. However, such models struggle due to limited language training—ChatGPT, for instance, has been trained on only 65,000 hours of Bhojpuri data compared to vastly more in English. This highlights the need for India to build its own AI infrastructure and models that natively support Indic languages and local requirements.

The vision includes leveraging open-source AI frameworks while enhancing India’s cloud computing and cybersecurity capabilities. Beyond agriculture, similar AI innovations can transform healthcare and other critical sectors. The ultimate goal is to establish a robust, self-reliant AI ecosystem that caters specifically to India’s diverse linguistic and socio-economic landscape.