"[...] this brief positions open source AI as a strategic policy option within India’s evolving AI ecosystem. It unpacks the critical importance of openness for India’s digital future, crystallising the key opportunities it offers to governments and developers alike. In doing so, it also explores the very meaning of “openness” in the context of AI, and how varying degrees of openness across data, code, and model weights shape possibilities for innovation, adaptability, and public oversight. At the same time, the brief also recognises the barriers and risks that accompany an open source approach, particularly within India’s institutional and regulatory realities, and the trade-offs different stakeholders may encounter. Building on this analysis, it presents concrete, actionable recommendations, outlining key policy levers for governments as well as practical steps for AI practitioners navigating complex questions around implementing open source AI. Both the analysis and the recommendations in this brief have been informed by and validated through a series of stakeholder interviews and workshops with government officials, developers, civic-tech organisations, and academic institutions." (Executive summary, page 8)