IBM India pitches ‘digital swaraj’ with country-specific tools for sovereign AI
IBM India has introduced 'Bharat Core,' a suite of tools designed to help local enterprises and government bodies maintain data sovereignty while utilizing AI. The initiative aims to integrate global AI platforms with Indian infrastructure and regulatory requirements.
Why it matters
As nations prioritize data sovereignty, tech giants are adapting their cloud and AI strategies to comply with local regulations and security concerns.
IBM is developing India-specific tools and application programming interface (API) connectors to integrate its sovereign AI software platform with local systems, as it seeks to help enterprises and governments retain greater control over their data, technology and AI operations.
At its Think 2026 event in Mumbai on Tuesday, Sandip Patel, Managing Director, IBM India and South Asia, described the approach as “digital swaraj”, arguing that sovereignty need not come at the cost of innovation.
“Sovereignty is not a choice between control and innovation. It is what gives enterprises the confidence to innovate at scale while remaining in control,” Mr. Patel said.
IBM’s Bharat Core comprises India-specific tools and API connectors built to work with its Sovereign Core software platform. Sovereign Core enables organisations to run cloud-like services on their own or partners’ infrastructure while retaining control over data, operations and AI workloads.
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