The Union Ministry of Electronics and IT launched three indigenous AI models—EKA-1, Dhīr 2B, and Dhīr 5B—to bolster India's strategic autonomy and reduce reliance on foreign technology in critical sectors like defence and banking.
Launch of Indigenous AI Models
Three indigenous artificial intelligence (AI) models launched under the Centre's IndiaAI Mission are being developed for applications ranging from offline access on mobile phones to secure use in critical sectors such as defence, cybersecurity and banking. The models -- EKA-1, Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B -- were launched by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Tuesday under the Foundation Model initiative of the IndiaAI Mission. Developed by Bengaluru-based Socket AI and ZenteiQ, the models aim to reduce India's dependence on foreign AI technologies and cater to the country's specific needs.
Mobile-Ready AI Solutions
ZenteiQ's Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B are compact AI models that can operate directly on mobile phones without requiring an internet connection. This is expected to make AI services accessible to users in areas with limited internet connectivity. Speaking to ANI, ZenteiQ Founder and Chief Scientist Professor Sashikumaar Ganesan said users would be able to access the models directly on their mobile devices after downloading them. “Once downloaded, all the configuration automatically takes place, then the model will be sitting in the user's mobile itself,” he said. Ganesan said the company was developing a free mobile application for both Android and iOS users. The model weights are already available through AIKosh, while the company is planning to launch a 9-billion-parameter model in December for researchers and engineers working on specialised problems.
Enterprise and Critical Sector Applications
Socket AI's EKA-1 Model
Meanwhile, Socket AI's EKA-1 is a 26-billion-parameter model trained on 7.5 trillion tokens. It is designed to perform tasks related to mathematics, coding and reasoning and can be deployed on private servers, private cloud systems and environments without internet connectivity. Socket AI CEO Abhishek Upperwal said the model was developed to reduce dependence on foreign AI technologies, particularly in sectors where data security and control are important. “We want to remove the reliance of foreign models and we want to make an indigenous model which can work in all our critical sectors,” he said, referring to areas such as defence, cybersecurity, banking and finance. Socket AI Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder Mayank Singh said the company had developed the model's data preparation, training and evaluation processes entirely in India. The company plans to make the model weights openly available within a month, with initial access being provided through a waitlist.
Strengthening Strategic Autonomy
At the launch, MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan said the indigenous models could strengthen India's strategic autonomy in artificial intelligence. He particularly highlighted their potential for enterprise applications in secure, air-gapped environments, where systems operate without a connection to external networks. The launch is part of India's broader efforts to build domestic AI capabilities and develop technologies that can be deployed across different sectors while ensuring greater control over data and digital infrastructure. (ANI)
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