Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Wednesday that India will create a national large language model (LLM) for AI research. He also urged for more investment in artificial intelligence. He made this statement while addressing a post-Budget webinar online. This move comes as India aims to compete with leading countries in the field of AI. Prime Minister Modi has been a strong supporter of boosting AI research in India. 

On February 10-11, he co-led the AI Action Summit in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron. During the summit, he announced that India is developing its own large language model (LLM) inspired by the country's diversity. He emphasised the importance of global cooperation on AI use for economic growth, social change and sustainable development. He also called for AI data sets that are free from bias. The Prime Minister also discussed creating jobs in his virtual speech at the post-budget webinar.

More than 30 million youth have received skill training from the government since 2014, he said. PM Modi further said, "We have announced plans to upgrade 1,000 ITI institutes and create five Centres of Excellence. Our aim is to ensure that youth training aligns with industry needs... to provide new opportunities and practical skills, we have launched the PM Internship Scheme. We must ensure that businesses of all sizes actively participate in this scheme. In this year's Budget, we announced 10,000 additional medical seats, with a target of adding 75,000 seats in the medical field over the next five years." 

PM Modi also mentioned the expansion of telemedical facilities in primary health centers, highlighting the medical sector. "Through day-care cancer centres and digital healthcare infrastructure, we aim to provide quality healthcare to the last mile," he noted. Speaking during the webinar virtually, PM Modi also emphasised investments in India, adding, "The vision of investment in people stands on three pillars—Education, Skills, and Healthcare. Today, you can see how India's education system is undergoing a massive transformation after several decades. Major initiatives such as the National Education Policy, expansion of IITs, integration of technology into the education system, full utilisation of AI, digitisation of textbooks and making study materials available in 22 Indian languages are all underway." He also emphasised that India's development plan focuses on investing in people, boosting the economy, and encouraging innovation. 

"You can see its large-scale impact in this year's Budget. This Budget serves as a blueprint for India's future. While we have prioritised infrastructure and industries in investment, we have equally focused on people, the economy, and innovation. Capacity building and talent development form the foundation of the country's progress. Therefore, in the next phase of development, we need to invest even more in these areas," he added.

In his speech, Prime Minister Modi said that planned urbanisation is crucial as India's urban population is predicted to reach almost 900 million by 2047. Adding further, he said, "We have decided to allocate Rs 1 trillion to the Urban Challenge Fund... The private sector, especially the real estate industry, must focus on planned urbanisation."