India Today Group introduces AI news anchor ‘Sutra’ at India AI Impact Summit

New Delhi: India Today Group on Tuesday introduced ‘Sutra’, an AI-driven news anchor, at the India AI Impact Summit 2026, positioning it as a tool to summarise and contextualise summit discussions in real time.

The group said Sutra has been developed in collaboration with BharatGen and was showcased at the summit by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

The announcement comes as Indian news organisations continue to test AI-led presentation and summarisation formats, alongside broader government and industry discussions on domestic AI capabilities and governance at the summit.

In 2023, India Today Group launched its first AI anchor, Sana, and later introduced an AI clone of Anjana Om Kashyap.

“Our goal with Sutra is to provide clarity in an increasingly fast-paced news cycle,” said Nilanjan Das, Chief AI Officer, India Today Group. “By working with BharatGen, we are exploring how AI can be leveraged to make information more accessible and inclusive for a wider audience, while maintaining the editorial standards the India Today Group is known for. With BharatGen, this brings us closer to a sovereign AI future.”

Rishi Bal, CEO of BharatGen, said, "For AI to truly transform the Indian media landscape, it must move beyond mere automation to deep contextual intelligence. BharatGen is pioneering sovereign, multimodal models that understand the natural nuances of Indian languages and regional dialects. In an era of AI anchors and real-time news, our focus is on building a robust technological backbone that allows for nuanced storytelling across diverse demographics.” Bal added, “By providing indigenous AI capabilities, we are ensuring that the future of Indian journalism is powered by technology that is culturally aware, linguistically inclusive, and built entirely on homegrown soil."