IndiaAI Mission Releases Indigenous AI Foundation Models EKA-1 and Dhīr 2B & 5B

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched three indigenous AI foundation models on 3 November 2026, namely EKA-1 developed by Soket Labs Technology and Research Private Limited, and Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B, developed by ZenteiQ AiTech Innovations. EKA-1 is a large language model with a size of 26.3 billion parameters and supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages. Dhīr models provide safe multilingual models for offline applications.

IndiaAI Mission Launches Three Indigenous Foundation Models

The three models were launched in New Delhi in front of S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, and senior officials of MeitY and IndiaAI, along with representatives from both technology firms.

The models have been developed under the IndiaAI Innovation Center (Foundation Models) pillar of the IndiaAI Mission, with support from subsidized national AI computing infrastructure and research costs.

The aim is to boost India’s domestic AI capabilities and develop AI systems using Indian languages.

EKA-1 AI model

EKA-1 is an indigenous foundation model developed by Soket Labs Technology and Research Private Limited. It is an open-source sparse hybrid model designed for use in complex AI applications such as mathematics, coding, reasoning and agentic AI.

Features of EKA-1

• Developed by Soket Labs Technology and Research Private Limited.
• Open-source sparse hybrid model.
• Parameters 26.3 Billion.
• Trained on around 7.5 trillion tokens.
• Supports all 22 scheduled Indian languages and English.
• Mathematics, Coding, Reasoning and Agentic AI.
• Focuses on BFSI and Cybersecurity.
• Designed specifically to meet the needs of India, particularly in financial services and cybersecurity.

Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B AI models

Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B are open-source AI models developed by ZenteiQ AiTech Innovations. They are lightweight models designed to be secure, multilingual and used on local infrastructure.

They can support English and 10 Indian Languages and are designed to be used in sensitive environments with little connectivity.

Features of Dhīr models

• Developed by ZenteiQ AiTech Innovations.
• Dhīr 2B and Dhīr 5B models.
• English and 10 Indian Languages.
• Secure on-premise/on-device.
• Can be used offline.
• Can be used with various computing platforms such as GPU/TPU.
• Document automation, Knowledge and Multilingual.
• Focuses on Defense, Government, Industry and Education.

Can be used to process information locally, which means organizations can keep their sensitive information secure. The lightweight nature of the models also means they can be used on mobile devices.

About IndiaAI Mission

The IndiaAI Mission is a national-level mission approved by the Union Cabinet on 7 th March 2024. Its aim is to create an overall AI ecosystem within India.

The mission has a total budget of ₹10,371.92 crore and spans 5 years. It focuses on creating domestic AI capabilities, increasing computing infrastructure, increasing access to datasets, supporting start-ups, and building responsible AI.

Overall, the IndiaAI Mission aims to “Make AI in India and Make AI Work for India”.