The IndiaAI Mission, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), today released the indigenous foundation models EKA-1 and Dhīr (Dhīr 2B & Dhīr 5B) developed by Soket Labs Technology and Research Private Limited and ZenteiQ AiTech Innovations respectively.
The release was unveiled today at a press event in New Delhi, in the presence of Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and senior officials of MeitY and IndiaAI, alongside the leadership teams of Soket and ZenteiQ. These indigenous models are a key milestone under the IndiaAI Mission, showcasing India's progress in creating home-grown AI technology.
Marking the occasion, Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said, The development of such indigenous models strengthens India’s technological and strategic autonomy in Artificial Intelligence. It also opens up opportunities to improve productivity and efficiency across government, industry, research and education. These resources have supported the development of models such as EKA-1 and Dhīr, each addressing distinct and relevant use cases. Through platforms such as AIKosh, these models can be made accessible to researchers, students, innovators and the wider public, encouraging further experimentation and innovation.
Speaking on the advancement of indigenous AI capabilities, Shri Sudeep Shrivastava, COO, IndiaAI, said, "IndiaAI Mission's comprehensive support ecosystem is dedicated to making artificial intelligence more accessible and tailored to India's unique landscape. Breakthrough models like Dhīr and EKA-1 showcase the nation's multi-layered progress in AI ranging from lightweight solutions optimized for everyday devices to robust powerhouses engineered for complex enterprise applications."
Soket AI and ZenteiQ are among the teams selected under the IndiaAI Innovation Centre (Foundation Models) pillar of the IndiaAI Mission to build indigenous foundation AI capabilities and Large Language Models. Access to subsidized national AI compute infrastructure and support for ancillary research expenses under the mission enabled the development of these models, highlighting how public AI infrastructure can accelerate homegrown innovation.
EKA-1 by Soket: Open, Sparse Hybrid Language Model Across All 22 Scheduled Indian Languages
Soket Labs Technology and Research Private Limited has developed EKA-1, a powerful Foundation Model featuring 26.3 billion parameters and trained on approximately 7.5 trillion tokens.
EKA-1 demonstrates advanced capabilities, spanning all 22 scheduled Indian languages alongside English. Built as an open, sparse hybrid language model, EKA-1 is designed for math, code, reasoning, and agentic use.
Speaking at the release, Abhishek Upperwal, CEO, Soket Labs Technology and Research Private Limited, said, “With the support of the IndiaAI Mission, we have developed an advanced AI model specifically tailored to India's unique banking, financial services and cybersecurity landscape. It is designed to address sector-specific requirements, understand India's evolving digital ecosystem, and deliver solutions aligned with the country's needs and priorities.”
Dhīr 2B & Dhīr 5B by ZenteiQ: Secure, On-Premise Multilingual Assistants for Critical Sectors
ZenteiQ AiTech Innovations has introduced the Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B open-source models. These models can be deployed as secure, on-premise, multilingual assistants supporting English and 10 Indian languages.
Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B enable offline-capable, document-grounded automation, knowledge retrieval, and citizen or enterprise services across defence, government, industrial, and educational sectors particularly in low-connectivity or sensitive environments.
Speaking at the release, Prof. Sashikumar, CEO, ZenteiQ AiTech Innovations, said, “Models like Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B offer the flexibility to run across different computing platforms, including GPUs and TPUs. Their lightweight architecture also enables on-device deployment on mobile phones, without dependence on cloud connectivity. This allows users to access AI capabilities locally while keeping data on their devices, enhancing privacy, security and accessibility.”
Based on the Hon'ble Prime Minister's vision to democratize the use of technology, India's AI strategy aims to address India-centric challenges, create economic and employment opportunities for all Indians, and position the nation as a global leader in artificial intelligence. Guided by the vision of “Making AI in India and Making AI Work for India”, the Union Cabinet approved the IndiaAI Mission on March 7, 2024. The mission operates across seven key pillars to establish a robust and inclusive AI ecosystem aligned with India's development goals: IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre, IndiaAI Datasets Platform (AIKosh), IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI.