India is planning huge investments into Artificial Intelligence (AI), including scalable AI compute infrastructure. India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has announced an investment worth Rs 10,300 crores (US$ 1.25 Billion approx.) to develop the country’s AI ecosystem over a five-year period. The corpus was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In an official statement, the Ministry said, “This substantial financial infusion, slated over the next five years, is poised to catalyse various components of the IndiaAI Mission, including pivotal initiatives like the IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC), IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI.” It further said, “A cornerstone of this effort is the IndiaAI Compute Capacity, envisioned to erect a cutting-edge, scalable AI computing infrastructure by deploying over 10,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) through strategic public-private collaborations.”
According to a joint report by Boston Consultancy Group (BCG) and National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group for India’s technology sector, the global AI market is expected to grow to US$ 320-380 Billion by 2027 witnessing a Compounded Average Growth Rate (CAGR) of 25-35 per cent. The report titled AI Powered Tech Services: A Roadmap for Future Ready Firms further estimated that the Indian AI market could grow from US$ 7-9 Billion in 2023 to US$ 17-22 Billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 25-35 per cent.
“AI is going to be the kinetic enabler for India’s digital economy,” said Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar adding that the investment will “catalyze India’s AI ecosystem and position it as a force shaping the future of AI for India and for the world.”
The Ministry further said that the funds approved by the Cabinet will enable the IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC) which will be a leading academic institution, to spearhead the development and deployment of foundational models, with a specific emphasis on indigenous Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) and domain-specific models, leveraging edge and distributed computing for optimal efficiency.
The Ministry also said that the IndiaAI Datasets Platform, which will be developed by the Independent Business Division (IBD) of IndiaAI, is slated to receive a boost to enhance accessibility, quality, and utility of public sector datasets, in order to ensure data-driven governance and catalyzing AI-based innovation and research.
Simultaneously, the IndiaAI FutureSkills program will focus on expanding the reach of AI education by increasing the accessibility of graduate and post-graduate AI programs, while also establishing Data and AI Labs that will not just be spread across major Indian cities but also smaller towns and cities to impart foundational-level courses in Data and AI.
