Indian frontier model company Sarvam has signed a memorandum of understanding with Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff, or HQ IDS, under the Ministry of Defence to establish an umbrella framework for artificial intelligence projects across the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The arrangement also covers joint, tri-service and integrated organisations operating under HQ IDS. It creates a common structure for projects that Sarvam will design, develop and deploy for operational, training and decision-support requirements across the services.
What the framework will cover
The projects will give the three services access to shared foundation models, agentic infrastructure, and geospatial and perception systems. The planned focus includes decision support, target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop.
Human oversight will remain in place for operational decisions. This means the AI systems are intended to support defence personnel and processes, while decisions in operations continue to retain human control.
HQ IDS will facilitate engagement across the services. The work is expected to span several projects involving the Army, Navy and Air Force rather than a single application or isolated service-level deployment.
Sarvam's responsibilities under the understanding include follow-on technical support after the applications are developed and deployed. The company said the objective is to build the AI layer for the services in India and operate it on sovereign infrastructure.
Focus on domestic defence capabilities
The MoU forms part of the government's push towards self-reliance in defence and the indigenisation of defence equipment and capabilities. In this arrangement, that objective extends to artificial intelligence, with emphasis on using Indian data and compute.
The framework is also intended to connect elements of India's defence capabilities through what the parties describe as an AI fabric. The supplied details do not specify individual project timelines, deployment schedules or the number of applications planned.
Sarvam's work will be carried out by Chanakya, its firewalled division focused on national security and defence. Chanakya will apply the company's AI stack, including foundation models such as Sarvam 105B.
Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar said the company's mission is to build AI in India for India. He described working with the three services on national defence as an honour and privilege.
For the armed forces, the immediate significance is the creation of a shared framework across the services. It brings common AI infrastructure and systems into the scope of projects covering training, operations, decision support, geospatial capabilities and sensor data.
Next steps under the understanding
The parties will take up projects described as being of critical importance, including development of an AI fabric linking elements of India's defence capabilities. HQ IDS will support coordination, while Sarvam and Chanakya will provide the technology and technical support described in the MoU.
The available details identify the application areas and infrastructure principles, but do not provide project-specific milestones or implementation dates. Further information about individual projects will therefore depend on subsequent work under the framework.
Conclusion
Sarvam's MoU with HQ IDS establishes a common AI framework for India's Army, Navy and Air Force, with domestic development, sovereign infrastructure and human oversight at its core.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Which defence organisations are covered by the framework?
The framework covers the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force. It also extends to joint, tri-service and integrated organisations under HQ IDS.
Q. What applications will Sarvam develop?
Sarvam will develop AI applications for operational, training and decision-support requirements. The focus areas include decision support, target acquisition and data fusion.
Q. Will the systems operate on foreign infrastructure?
The stated objective is to build the AI layer in India and deploy it on sovereign infrastructure, using Indian data and compute.
Q. Will AI make operational decisions independently?
Human oversight will be retained over operational decisions.
Q. Which Sarvam division will carry out the work?
Chanakya, Sarvam's firewalled division focused on national security and defence, will carry out the work.
Q. Which AI model is mentioned in the arrangement?
The AI stack to be applied by Chanakya includes foundation models such as Sarvam 105B.
Q. What role will HQ IDS play?
HQ IDS will facilitate engagement for projects across the three services and organisations under its structure.
