India Charts Independent AI Path, Backs Open-Source Models Amid US Restrictions

Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government is supporting the development of 20 Indian AI models

While the US navigates approval processes for restrictions on advanced artificial intelligence models like Anthropic’s Fable 5 and Mythos 5, India is executing a parallel strategy. According to a senior government official on Tuesday, India is focusing heavily on open-source and homegrown AI models, actively supporting local developers to build next-generation systems.Explaining that the US wanted to place some restrictions on AI before it becomes widely distributed, the official said, “The restrictions were not only for India, but worldwide.”Declining to elaborate on Washington’s tighter controls on frontier AI models from leading US tech companies, the senior IT Ministry official said that India’s own strategy is to back indigenous AI development while making use of open-source models that are capable of handling many functions and workload capabilities of frontier AI models.“Clearly there are some capabilities that AI technology has, especially in the cybersecurity space, in terms of testing of vulnerabilities of existing software code, which are useful and which we need to have the capacity to do it,” the official said. He added that while top-tier frontier models might represent 100 per cent capability, several open-source and homegrown Indian models are currently being developed that offer roughly 60 per cent to 80 per cent of that frontier capability.India’s AI strategyThe official emphasised that India’s AI strategy focuses on creating tangible economic impact rather than being driven by stock market excitement. Commenting on recent fluctuations in global tech stocks, the official noted that current valuations and massive investment optimism are largely concentrated around a handful of companies specialising in advanced chips, models, and infrastructure.On asked about Indian companies using Chinese open AI models due to lower costs, which could be vulnerable to national security, the official said, “The important thing that we have to realise is, especially companies which are using them, they should be concerned about whether what they use are safe. That is something which is more important.”Under the IndiaAI Mission, the government is supporting the development of 20 Indian AI models and will continue working with developers to improve their capabilities and help narrow the gap with leading systems, the official added.Published on June 30, 2026