Context: Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Railways, and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw marked a major milestone in India’s AI journey with the launch of several key initiatives under the IndiaAI Mission during its anniversary celebration. Key among the newly introduced initiatives is AIKosha: IndiaAI Datasets Platform.

Background: –

• The launch of AIKosha signifies a major step in democratizing AI access, enabling research-driven innovation, and strengthening India’s global AI leadership.

Key Points

• AIKosha, launched by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is a comprehensive platform designed to streamline access to high-quality, non-personal datasets, AI models, and development tools, thereby fostering AI innovation across the nation.

Key Features of AIKosha:

• Extensive Repository: The platform hosts over 300 datasets and more than 80 AI models from 12 organizations, providing a rich resource for model builders and developers to create India-centric AI solutions. 
• AI Sandbox Capabilities: AIKosha offers integrated development environments equipped with tools and tutorials, enabling users to experiment, develop, and refine AI applications effectively. 
• Secure and Accessible: The platform ensures data security through features like data encryption (both at rest and in motion), secure APIs, and firewalls for real-time threat filtering. It also emphasizes content discoverability and AI readiness scoring of datasets to assist users in selecting appropriate resources. 

Objective and Impact:

• By providing a unified portal for seamless access to datasets, models, and tools, AIKosha aims to democratize AI development in India. It supports students, startups, researchers, academia, and government departments in building AI applications tailored to India’s diverse linguistic and cultural landscape. 
• This initiative is part of the broader IndiaAI Mission, which seeks to establish a comprehensive ecosystem catalyzing AI innovation through public-private partnerships.

Source: PIB