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💥BharatGen Programme

👉Overview & Launch
•BharatGen is a pioneering government-funded multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) initiative, launched on 30 September 2024 in Delhi. It aims to develop foundational AI models capable of generating text, speech, images, and multimodal content in diverse Indian languages.

•Launched by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) and spearheaded by IIT Bombay, alongside premier institutions like IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Mandi, IIT Kanpur, IIT Hyderabad, IIM Indore, and IIT Madras.

👉Key Features
1.Multilingual & Multimodal Models – Developed to process multiple Indian languages and modalities like text, speech, and imagery.
2.India-Centric Datasets – Built on a corpus curated from Indian languages, dialects, and cultural contexts, ensuring data sovereignty.
3.Open-Source Platform – Designed to be inclusive, fostering research and innovation across academia, startups, and government.
4.Public Good Orientation – The models are intended for broad societal use, enhancing equity, cultural preservation, and linguistic diversity.

👉Significance & Alignment
•A cornerstone of Atmanirbhar Bharat, BharatGen aims to reduce reliance on foreign AI technologies by building robust indigenous infrastructure.
•Supports inclusive public service delivery by enabling AI interactions in regional languages, thus improving governance, education, and healthcare.

•Promotes AI literacy and innovation through training programs, hackathons, and collaborations, aiming to build a vibrant research ecosystem.

👉Timeline & Roadmap
•The project is slated for completion by July 2026, encompassing model development, benchmarking, experimentation, and scaling for industry and public institutions.

•Includes creation of Bharat Data Sagar—a comprehensive India-centric data repository for training and evaluation.

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👉Introduction
Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) represent frontier technologies that integrate the physical and digital worlds. They hold transformative potential in education, governance, and healthcare, but their adoption is hindered by socio-economic and ethical concerns.

👉Potential Benefits
1.Education

•AR enables interactive textbooks, immersive field trips, and real-time visualization of complex concepts.
•VR creates virtual classrooms and simulations, making remote learning more engaging.

2.Governance

•AR-based dashboards for disaster management and urban planning.
•VR training modules for defence, law enforcement, and civil services.
•Virtual grievance redressal forums to improve citizen engagement.

3.Healthcare

•AR aids surgeons with overlays during operations.
•VR assists in therapy for PTSD, phobias, and rehabilitation.
•Medical training through realistic simulations.

👉Challenges
•Accessibility: High costs of VR headsets, limited internet penetration in rural areas.
•Digital Divide: Risk of excluding marginalized groups.
•Ethical Concerns: Data privacy, surveillance, and manipulation of perceptions.
•Health Risks: Motion sickness, psychological dependency.
•Policy Gaps: Lack of regulations on usage and accountability.

👉Way Forward
•Develop affordable indigenous AR/VR solutions.
•Public–private partnerships for healthcare and education projects.
•Ethical guidelines ensuring transparency, inclusivity, and data protection.
•Integration with Digital India and Skill India initiatives to bridge gaps.

👉Conclusion
While AR and VR can revolutionize learning, governance, and healthcare, their equitable and ethical adoption requires robust policy frameworks and investments in accessibility, ensuring that technological progress translates into social progress.

☑️Mains Q. on Augmented Reality (AR) & Virtual Reality (VR)

Topic : Science & Technology | GS 3

Q) AR and VR technologies have the potential to revolutionize education, governance, and healthcare, but challenges of accessibility and ethics remain. Discuss.

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