Nandan Nilekani doubles down on IIT Madras-based AI4Bharat research lab with new multi-year grant

Nandan Nilekani, the co-founder of Infosys and architect of India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI), has made a fresh multi-year grant to AI4Bharat, reinforcing his long-term vision of democratising artificial intelligence for every Indian. This marks his second major contribution to the IIT Madras-based initiative, which is building foundational, open-source AI models tailored for India’s linguistically diverse population. 

The renewed backing underscores Nilekani’s belief that AI4Bharat is among the most impactful tech infrastructure initiatives in India, enabling what he calls “AI for the people.” 

“Inclusion begins with access—and for Bharat, that means language,” said Nilekani. “AI4Bharat is building the infrastructure that ensures every Indian can access digital services in the language they speak.” 

Laying the foundation for India’s language AI revolution 

Nilekani’s first grant in 2022 helped establish the Nilekani Centre at AI4Bharat, catalysing the creation of India’s largest open-source language AI infrastructure. From speech recognition to text-to-speech and translation models across all 22 constitutionally recognised languages, AI4Bharat’s work has become the bedrock for applications ranging from voice-based UPI payments to Supreme Court judgment translations. 

Key public platforms such as Bhashini, part of the IndiaAI Mission, and AIKosh, the national AI repository, rely on AI4Bharat’s models. These tools are also powering grassroots-level innovations like Kisan e-Mitra, an agricultural chatbot delivering real-time assistance to farmers in native languages. 

Public-interest AI as digital infrastructure 

With India’s digital public infrastructure (DPI) setting a global benchmark—from Aadhaar to UPI—Nilekani sees language AI as the next frontier. His broader vision emphasises that AI should be “inclusive, not extractive”, leveraging India’s DPI to create population-scale impact without compromising on equity or accessibility. 

“People plus AI is how we hope to leverage AI and actually make it work for people at scale,” Nilekani said. 

Professor V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, echoed this sentiment.“With the growing need for Bharat-specific AI models and reducing the risk of an AI divide, the vision of 'AI for All' is extremely relevant for our country.” 

AI4Bharat has already released large-scale multilingual datasets to the public domain, strengthening India’s stance as a global leader in open, inclusive AI. Nilekani’s continued support will accelerate this momentum as the IndiaAI Mission expands and regulatory frameworks for trusted AI evolve.