Sarvam signs five-year MoU with Ministry of Defence for AI projects across three Services
Sarvam has signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Defence’s Headquarters Integrated Defence Staff (HQ IDS) to develop and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) applications across the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force.
Announced on October 27 in New Delhi, the agreement establishes a framework for AI projects across the three Services and joint organisations under HQ IDS. The projects will cover operational requirements, training and decision support, with Sarvam also providing technical support following deployment.
The agreement comes amid the government’s push to develop indigenous defence technologies and reduce reliance on foreign systems. Under the framework, Sarvam will work with the armed forces on AI applications intended for military use, with HQ IDS facilitating engagement across the Services.
AI applications to cover operational and training requirements
Under the MoU, Sarvam will design, develop and deploy AI applications for the Army, Navy and Air Force, as well as joint and integrated organisations under HQ IDS.
The areas identified in the announcement include decision support, target acquisition and data fusion across the sensor-to-shooter loop. The latter refers to the process of collecting information from sensors, identifying potential targets and passing relevant information to systems responsible for responding to them.
The agreement also envisages the use of foundation models, AI agents and geospatial and perception systems across projects undertaken by the three Services. The announcement does not specify individual project timelines, deployment locations or the financial value of the agreement.
Sarvam said the framework would allow the Services to draw on common AI infrastructure and models, while enabling knowledge and lessons from projects in one Service to inform work in another.
The MoU also places emphasis on retaining human oversight of operational decisions. However, the announcement does not detail the specific safeguards, approval processes or operational protocols that will govern individual applications.
Chanakya division to lead defence-related work
The work will be undertaken by Chanakya, Sarvam’s division focused on national security and defence. The division will use the company’s AI technology stack, including its Sarvam 105B foundation model.
Foundation models are AI systems trained on large datasets that can be adapted for different tasks. Depending on how they are implemented, such models can support applications involving language processing, information retrieval and analysis.
Sarvam describes itself as a sovereign AI company that develops models and infrastructure in India. Its work spans training and inference infrastructure, language and other multimodal models, and AI products for government and enterprise customers.
The company said the MoU would cover projects of importance to national defence, including the development of an AI fabric connecting different elements of defence capabilities. The announcement did not provide further technical details about the proposed system or specify when it would become operational.
Sarvam co-founder Pratyush Kumar said the agreement would allow the company to work with the three Services on defence-related AI applications. He also said the company would apply its AI technology to the requirements identified under the partnership.
Focus on indigenous defence technology
The agreement aligns with the government’s broader emphasis on Atmanirbharta in defence, which involves developing domestic capabilities and increasing the use of Indian-designed and manufactured technologies.
AI adoption in defence can involve applications ranging from information analysis and training to processing data from multiple sensors. The specific requirements and deployment conditions vary across military services and operational environments.
Under the MoU, HQ IDS will facilitate engagement between Sarvam and the three Services as projects are taken up. The framework covers a five-year period, although the announcement does not disclose the number of projects planned, their individual budgets or the expected outcomes of each deployment.
Sarvam is headquartered in Bengaluru and develops AI models across language, speech, vision and document processing. The company said its models are trained in India, as part of its focus on building domestic AI capabilities for government and enterprise use.