OpenAI introduces IndQA, designed to evaluate AI systems on Indian culture, languages
Bengaluru (PTI): OpenAI on Tuesday introduced IndQA, a benchmark dataset designed to measure how well AI models understand and reason about questions on Indian culture, languages and context.
IndQA evaluates knowledge and reasoning about Indian culture and everyday life in Indian languages, it said.
According to OpenAI, IndQA includes 2,278 questions across 12 languages and 10 cultural domains, created in partnership with 261 domain experts from across India.
Unlike traditional benchmarks, IndQA's questions are natively written, not translated, reflecting the nuances of how people in India actually think, speak, and ask questions, it said.
"At OpenAI, we believe AI should be useful for all of humanity. That means AI must understand local cultures, languages, histories and contexts -- not just the Western world. India is a country of immense diversity, with many languages, traditions, and cultural nuances. For AI to be truly valuable here, it must understand that richness," Srinivas Narayanan, CTO, B2B Applications, OpenAI told reporters here.
Announcing the launch of IndQA, Narayanan said, it has been created with a curated dataset that captures India's cultural and historical context.
"This dataset helps our models understand Indian nuances more deeply. The experts also provide evaluation rubrics, so we can measure how well the AI performs on culturally grounded questions. Our goal is to take this as a playbook and use it in other countries too. We have been working with India in this way," he said.
Narayanan added that IndQA also underscores OpenAI's growing commitment to the Indian ecosystem, where local developers, educators, and creators are shaping how AI is being adopted and built for the world.
According to OpenAI, IndQA covers a broad range of culturally relevant topics, such as architecture and design, arts and culture, everyday life, food and cuisine, history, law and ethics, literature and linguistics, media and entertainment, religion and spirituality, and sports and recreation--with items written natively in Bengali, English, Hindi, Hinglish, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, and Punjabi.
Each datapoint includes a culturally grounded prompt in an Indian language, an English translation for auditability, rubric criteria for grading, and an ideal answer that reflects expert expectations, it added.
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Deep societal faultlines persist despite 75 years of independence: Justice Ujjal Bhuyan
Judge cites denial of home to Muslim girl, opposition to Dalit women cooking mid-day meals
Hyderabad, February 23, 2026: Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan has said that despite repeated affirmations of constitutional morality by courts, deep societal faultlines rooted in caste and religious discrimination continue to shape everyday realities in India.
Speaking at a seminar on “Constitutional Morality and the Role of District Judiciary” organised by the Telangana Judges Association and the Telangana State Judicial Academy in Hyderabad, Justice Bhuyan reflected on the gap between constitutional ideals and social practices.
He cited a recent instance involving his daughter’s friend, a PhD scholar at a private university in Noida, who was denied accommodation in South Delhi after her surname revealed her Muslim identity. According to Justice Bhuyan, the landlady bluntly informed her that no accommodation was available once her religious background became known.
In another example from Odisha, he referred to resistance by some parents to the government’s mid-day meal programme because the food was prepared by Dalit women employed as cooks. He noted that some parents had objected aggressively and refused to allow their children to consume meals cooked by members of the Scheduled Caste community.
Describing these incidents as “the tip of the iceberg,” Justice Bhuyan said they reveal how far society remains from the benchmark of constitutional morality even 75 years into the Republic. He observed that while the Constitution lays down standards of equality and dignity, the morality practised within homes and communities often diverges sharply from those values.
He emphasised that constitutional morality requires governance through the rule of law rather than the rule of popular opinion. Referring to the evolution of the doctrine through judicial decisions, he cited Naz Foundation v Union of India, in which the Delhi High Court read down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, holding that popular morality cannot restrict fundamental rights under Article 21. Though the judgment was later overturned in Suresh Kumar Koushal v Naz Foundation, the Supreme Court ultimately restored and expanded the principle in Navtej Singh Johar v Union of India, affirming that constitutional morality must prevail over majoritarian views.
“In our constitutional scheme, it is the constitutionality of the issue before the court that is relevant, not the dominant or popular view,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also addressed the functioning of the district judiciary, underlining that trial courts are the first point of contact for most litigants and form the foundation of the justice delivery system. He stressed that due importance must be given to the recording of evidence and adjudication of bail matters.
Highlighting the role of High Courts, he said their supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227 of the Constitution is intended as a shield to correct grave jurisdictional errors, not as a mechanism to substitute the discretion or factual appreciation of trial judges.
He recalled that several distinguished judges, including Justice H R Khanna, Justice A M Ahmadi, and Justice Fathima Beevi, began their careers in the district judiciary.
On representation within the judicial system, Justice Bhuyan noted that Telangana has made significant strides in gender inclusion. Out of a sanctioned strength of 655 judicial officers in the Telangana Judicial Service, 478 are currently serving, of whom 283 are women, exceeding 50 per cent representation. He added that members of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, minority communities, and persons with disabilities are also represented in the state’s judiciary.
He observed that greater representation of women, marginalised communities, persons with disabilities, and sexual minorities would help make the judiciary more inclusive and reflective of India’s diversity. “The judiciary must represent all the colours of the rainbow and become a rainbow institution,” he said.
Justice Bhuyan also referred to the recent restoration by the Supreme Court of the requirement of a minimum three years of practice at the Bar for entry-level judicial posts. While acknowledging that the requirement ensures practical exposure, he cautioned that its impact on women aspirants, especially those from rural or small-town backgrounds facing social and financial constraints, would need to be carefully observed over time.
Concluding his address, he reiterated that the justice system must strive to bridge the gap between constitutional ideals and lived realities, ensuring that the rule of law remains paramount.
