India's AI Revolution: Driving Future with Affordable Innovations

New Delhi, Feb 11 (NationPress) India is undergoing a significant transformation in Artificial Intelligence (AI) under the forward-thinking guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the first time in its history, the government is directly nurturing an AI ecosystem where computing power, GPUs, and research opportunities are accessible at a reasonable cost.

The administration has ensured that AI is not limited to a select few and is not controlled by large tech corporations and international behemoths. Through revolutionary policies, the government is empowering students, startups, and innovators to utilize world-class AI infrastructure, creating a genuinely equitable environment. This includes initiatives like the IndiaAI mission and the establishment of Centers of Excellence for AI.

Here’s an overview of the Modi government’s initiatives to position India as a global AI powerhouse:

IndiaAI Mission: Leading Accessible AI

In a landmark move to strengthen India’s AI ecosystem, the Modi government in 2024 sanctioned the IndiaAI Mission with a funding of Rs 10,300 crore. This investment, planned over the next five years, is set to accelerate various elements of the IndiaAI mission.

The mission, supported by a state-of-the-art common computing facility, is now focused on customizing indigenous AI solutions tailored to the Indian context using local languages.

The AI model is starting with a computational facility housing approximately 10,000 Graphic Processing Units (GPUs). Soon, the remaining 8,693 GPUs will be integrated.

GPU Infrastructure and Open GPU Market

Within ten months of the launch of the India AI Mission, the responsible ministry has received an extraordinary response and established an advanced common computing facility comprising around 18,693 GPUs.

This amount is nearly nine times what the Open-Source Model DeepSeek possesses and about two-thirds of what ChatGPT has.

Remarkably, the Modi government has initiated the opening of India’s GPU marketplace, becoming the first government to do so, thereby allowing small startups, researchers, and students to access high-performance computing resources, unlike many countries where the AI market is dominated by large industry players.

The government plans to provide 18,000 high-end GPU-based computing facilities for AI development to entities across the nation in the coming days, with 10,000 already available.

Additionally, 10 companies have been selected to supply 18,693 GPUs. Furthermore, India aims to develop its own GPU within the next three to five years, and a national foundational AI platform is expected in the next ten months.

Shortly, a common computing facility will be launched, granting startups and researchers access to computing power. While global GPU access costs about $2.5-$3 per hour, the government will offer it for just $1 per hour.

IndiaAI Dataset Platform: Fueling AI Innovation with Open Data

The government has been diligently working to make open datasets available to the broader research community.

Through the IndiaAI Dataset platform, the government aims to simplify access to high-quality, non-personal datasets, establishing a unified data platform that facilitates seamless access for Indian startups and researchers, thereby accelerating AI-driven innovation.

Establishment of AI Centers of Excellence

In 2023, the Modi government unveiled plans for three AI Centers of Excellence (CoE) concentrating on healthcare, agriculture, and sustainable cities. The Budget 2025 also proposed establishing a new CoE for AI in education with a budget of Rs 500 crore. This CoE for AI in education marks the fourth center to be announced.

Furthermore, the government has disclosed intentions to establish five national CoEs for skill development, aimed at equipping youth with industry-relevant skills. These centers will be launched in collaboration with global partners to support the Make in India and Make for the World manufacturing initiatives.

India’s Foundational Large Language Models (LLMs)

India is not only building a solid AI ecosystem but has already made remarkable progress in developing foundational AI models. The government has assured that India's AI advancements are homegrown.

One of the notable accomplishments is Digital India BHASHINI, India’s AI-driven language translation platform, aimed at facilitating easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages, including voice-based access, and promoting content creation in Indian tongues.

BharatGen is the world’s first government-funded multimodal LLM initiative. Launched in 2024, this generative AI aims to transform public service delivery and enhance citizen engagement by developing a suite of foundational models in language, speech, and computer vision.

Another initiative is the Sarvam-1 AI Model, specifically optimized for Indian languages, addressing a significant gap in the AI landscape. Sarvam-1, which boasts 2 billion parameters, supports ten major Indian languages, showcasing its potential to revolutionize various applications such as language translation, text summarization, and content generation.

India Leads Global AI Talent and Skill Penetration

Under the IndiaAI future skills initiative, AI courses will be expanded across undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. programs. Moreover, fellowships are being offered to full-time Ph.D. scholars focusing on AI research in the top 50 NIRF-ranked research institutes.

According to the Stanford AI Index 2024, India also excels globally in AI skill penetration.

With a score of 2.8, India ranks first globally in AI skill penetration, outpacing the US (2.2) and Germany (1.9). The nation has also recorded an impressive 263 percent growth in AI talent concentration since 2016, establishing itself as a prominent global player in AI.