BharatGen names eight-member advisory board as sovereign AI models widen use

BharatGen, the government-backed company building India's own artificial intelligence models, has set up an eight-member advisory board of senior figures from finance, technology, public policy, academia and defence. The board was reported on Tuesday, 3 November 2026. Its members include Ashish Chauhan, chief executive of the National Stock Exchange of India, and Debjani Ghosh of NITI Aayog. The company says the board will advise on technology strategy, adoption and governance as its models move from development into wider use.

BharatGen is one of the main efforts under India's push for "sovereign AI": AI models built in India, trained to work in Indian languages and run under Indian control, rather than relying only on systems owned by foreign companies. A large language model is the kind of AI system that reads and writes text, and can power chat assistants, translation and document tools. BharatGen's models are now moving towards wider use, which raises practical questions about who uses them, how data is protected and what rules govern them.

The make-up of the board reflects those questions. A stock exchange chief and a former bank chief bring experience of running systems where errors are costly and regulation is strict. A NITI Aayog leader brings the policy side, and engineers from Google and Raytheon bring experience of building large technical systems. The presence of two retired military officers points to the security side of AI, although reports note that the company has not said whether it is pursuing defence applications.

Chief Executive Rishi Bal has said that building sovereign AI requires more than strong models, pointing to the need for institutional experience as the models are adopted. For government departments, banks, schools and hospitals considering Indian-built AI, the board's advice on governance and data control could shape how readily they take it up.

There are open questions. The company has not said how often the board will meet, how long members will serve or whether they will be paid. Because the board is advisory, its influence will depend on how much the company acts on its advice.

Peepals calculation: Of the eight members, six are named in reports and two are unnamed retired military officers, so a quarter of the board comes from defence (2 ÷ 8 = 0.25). The six named members are three-quarters of the board (6 ÷ 8 = 0.75). Our calculation from the reported figures.

Short-term: The board gives BharatGen access to senior advice as it pitches its models to government and industry users in areas such as finance, education and healthcare.

Long-term: How BharatGen handles data control and governance will influence whether Indian public institutions adopt home-grown AI models at scale, and could shape wider rules for AI use in India.

Who is affected: Government departments, banks, schools and hospitals considering Indian AI models; Indian AI developers and researchers; and citizens whose data and services may increasingly involve AI.

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