Indian frontier model company Sarvam has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS), Ministry of Defence, to set up an umbrella framework for artificial intelligence (AI) projects across the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
The framework also extends to joint, tri-service and integrated organisations under HQ IDS.
The MoU is a step in the government’s push towards self-reliance in defence and the indigenisation of defence equipment and capabilities. The same objective now extends to AI, with an emphasis on building capabilities in India using Indian data and compute.
As part of the understanding, Sarvam will design, develop and deploy AI applications for the operational, training and decision-support requirements of the three services, and provide follow-on technical support.
Work under the MoU will span several projects across all three services, with HQ IDS facilitating the engagement.
The Army, Navy and Air Force will gain access to the same foundation models, agentic infrastructure, and geospatial and perception systems.
The focus areas include decision support, target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop, with human oversight retained over operational decisions.
The company said the objective is to ensure that the AI layer for the services is built in India and deployed on sovereign infrastructure.
“Sarvam exists to build AI in India, for India. The core of that mission is to put the country’s own intelligence into the systems it depends on. To work with the three services on the nation’s defence is an honour and a privilege,” said Pratyush Kumar, co-founder, Sarvam.
The work will be carried out by Chanakya, Sarvam’s firewalled division focused on national security and defence.
Chanakya will apply Sarvam’s AI stack, including foundation models such as Sarvam 105B.
Under the MoU, Sarvam and HQ IDS will take up projects of critical importance, including building an AI fabric that connects elements of India’s defence capabilities.
