Chapter 3 – Alliance Membership

Article 13 | Structure of Alliance Membership

The following categories of entities, incorporated, registered, or organized in accordance with applicable laws, are eligible to apply for Alliance Membership of OpenBharat.net under the authority of the Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law pursuant to Article 4(1)(b) of the ISAIL Charter:

(1) Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs): Business enterprises duly recognized under applicable statutory definitions (including the MSMED Act in India or equivalent international thresholds) engaged in commercial activities, infrastructure provisioning, service delivery, or product deployment across the artificial intelligence lifecycle.

(2) Start-ups: Early-stage corporate or entrepreneurial ventures focused on technological innovation, proprietary model deployment, or alternative algorithmic architectures, actively advancing sovereign capabilities or software solutions in artificial intelligence.

(3) Research Laboratories and Testbeds: Research entities organized under any of the following institutional structures, focusing on foundational, applied, or pre-commercial AI technologies:

• Academic Research Laboratories: Laboratories operating within accredited universities, institutes of national importance, or higher educational institutions engaged in non-commercial, fundamental, or applied AI research.

• Independent Research Organisations: Non-profit, trust-based, or public-benefit research entities conducting autonomous policy, empirical, or computational studies not tied to immediate proprietary productisation.

• Scientific and Industrial Research Organisations (SIROs): Formally recognized scientific or industrial research bodies engaged in advanced technical, algorithmic, or hardware experimentation.

• Private Research Laboratories: Corporate or privately funded research facilities maintaining dedicated exploratory research, prototype development, or benchmark testbeds.

(4) Open-Source Communities and Collectives: Collaborative developer consortia, decentralized groups, or open-standard communities actively maintaining or contributing to open-source software repositories, model weights, or open datasets. To qualify for formal institutional admission, such communities shall maintain an identified liaison group of at least three (3) to five (5) individuals accredited or registered under the ISAIL membership framework.

(5) Developer Communities and Technical Associations: Formal or informal associations of software developers, ML engineers, systems architects, and technologists collaborating on AI infrastructure, tooling, and ecosystem development. To qualify for Alliance Membership, such associations shall maintain a minimum of ten (10) participating individuals registered under the ISAIL membership framework.

(6) Social Enterprises and Public-Benefit Organisations: Mission-driven entities leveraging artificial intelligence to advance societal welfare, public goods, civic administration, regional digital inclusion, or public infrastructure. Eligible entities encompass Section 8 companies, registered Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Self-Help Groups (SHGs), charitable trusts, and social-impact enterprises operating on a non-profit or limited-distribution model.

(7) Transitory Continuance and Institutional Succession of Incumbent Members:

• All organizations, entities, and institutional bodies holding valid, accredited membership under the erstwhile AiStandard.io Alliance (or AI Standardisation Alliance) as of the date of formal notification of this Charter shall automatically transition to and be recognized as accredited Alliance Members of OpenBharat.net without being subjected to de novo application or onboarding procedures.

• The institutional membership tenure of all such incumbent members shall continue in uninterrupted effect up to and including July 1, 2028, subject to ongoing adherence to the compliance criteria, intellectual property covenants, and code of conduct established under this Charter and the ISAIL Charter.

• Upon the expiration of this transitional term on July 1, 2028, renewal of Alliance Membership shall be conducted in accordance with the periodic review and re-certification standards administered by the OpenBharat.net Governing Council (OBGC) and the Secretariat.