New Delhi: AI firm Sarvam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with HQ Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) under the Ministry of Defence for developing and deploying artificial intelligence projects across the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.
The framework between HQ Integrated Defence Staff and Sarvam also covers joint, tri-service and integrated organisations under HQ IDS, the AI company said.
Under the agreement, Sarvam will design, develop and deploy AI applications for operational, training and decision-support requirements across the three services. The company will also provide follow-on technical support for the projects.
The work under the agreement will span several AI projects across the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force, with HQ Integrated Defence Staff facilitating the engagement between Sarvam and the three services.
The agreement marks a step in the government’s drive towards Atmanirbharta in defence and the indigenisation of defence equipment and capabilities.
The focus on self-reliance also extends to artificial intelligence, which is becoming increasingly important to military capabilities.
Through the pact, the three services and joint organisations will gain access to the same foundation models, agentic infrastructure, and geospatial and perception systems.
According to the company, doctrines and lessons learned from projects undertaken by one service can subsequently feed into projects of another service.
The MoU between HQ Integrated Defence Staff and Sarvam also advances the Ministry of Defence’s direction on military AI, with focus areas including decision support, target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop.
The framework retains human oversight over operational decisions, while focusing on building the AI layer in India and deploying it on sovereign infrastructure.
“Sarvam exists to build AI in India, for India. To work with the three Services on the nation’s defence is an honour and a privilege. We are grateful to HQ IDS for its trust,” said Pratyush Kumar, Co-founder, Sarvam.
The work will be carried out by Chanakya, Sarvam’s firewalled division focused on national security and defence. The division will apply Sarvam’s AI stack, including foundation models such as Sarvam 105B.
The partnership between HQ Integrated Defence Staff and Sarvam is aimed at strengthening sovereign AI capabilities for India’s Defence Forces.
The two organisations have signed the MoU to collaborate on AI applications, research, knowledge management, training and decision-support across the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force.
The partnership will focus on building secure, sovereign and scalable AI capabilities, with an emphasis on data sovereignty and responsible AI-based solutions.
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