# India floats AI plan to keep model traveling to data

Digest AI · Policy & Regulation · published 2026-11-02T04:39:50Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/india-floats-ai-plan-to-keep-model-traveling-to-data

## Summary

India launches DEPA, a framework that keeps AI models traveling to data rather than data traveling to models. The scheme lets hospitals, banks and government agencies share anonymised encrypted data through a Data Exchange Platform, while training data consumers train models in secure environments. DEPs use hardware‑based secure environments, differential privacy and immutable logs to protect data while allowing model training. MeitY envisions the plan to unlock health data for diagnostics, drug discovery and public health, extend credit to 400 million underserved individuals and MSMEs, and provide AI‑powered personalised learning for 250 million students in a $29 billion EdTech sector. The initiative also positions India as a contributor to global science diplomacy and aims to keep Big Tech from dominating the local market.

## Key points

- India launches DEPA, a framework that keeps AI models traveling to data rather than data traveling to models.
- The plan targets health, finance and education, aiming to give 400 million underserved people credit and 250 million students AI‑powered learning.
- DEPs will use hardware‑based secure environments, differential privacy and immutable logs to protect data while allowing model training.

## Why it matters

India’s DEPA plan could shift how AI models are built in emerging markets, keeping data under local control and limiting Big Tech access. By enabling secure, privacy‑preserving data sharing, it may accelerate AI‑driven health, finance and education services for hundreds of millions of Indians, while positioning India as a leader in responsible AI governance.

## Sources

1. [India floats AI plan under which ‘The model travels to the data, rather than the data travelling to the model’](https://theregister.com/public-sector/2026/11/02/india-floats-ai-plan-under-which-the-model-travels-to-the-data-rather-than-the-data-travelling-to-the-model/5306872) (The Register AI/ML, 2026-11-02)

## Cite

Digest AI, "India floats AI plan to keep model traveling to data", 2 November 2026, https://digestai.news/story/india-floats-ai-plan-to-keep-model-traveling-to-data

---

Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record. Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse
JSON: https://digestai.news/story/india-floats-ai-plan-to-keep-model-traveling-to-data.json