The Indian government has earmarked a significant amount of ₹5,000 crore in their AI plan to enhance computing power. This decision was announced by Abhishek Singh, the additional secretary in the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), during the Global IndiaAI Summit. The funds are part of the ₹10,371.92 crore approved by the cabinet in March for the mission, with a portion specifically allocated to support Indian start-ups in developing AI-based solutions.
Singh emphasized that additional investments from investors and venture capitalists will complement the government’s efforts, contributing to the pool of funds available for AI start-ups. The government aims to subsidize access to computing power instead of owning the infrastructure outright. By doing so, researchers and start-ups can access computing resources at lower costs, enabling more experimentation and scalability.
The focus will be on addressing bottlenecks in the AI ecosystem, particularly related to compute resources, datasets, and skilling. The government’s approach involves a trust-based system where end-users, such as start-ups and researchers, can choose the infrastructure they need, while the government implements checks and balances to prevent misuse. Tenders will soon be floated to procure compute capacity.
In addition to subsidizing access to compute infrastructure, the government plans to enhance the availability of real datasets in Indian languages to support the development of indigenous AI models. Kavita Bhatia, the Chief Operating Officer for India and group coordinator in the ministry, revealed plans to release a request for proposals for the IndiaAI Datasets Platform. This platform will provide researchers and start-ups access to non-personal data from government ministries, offering data annotation, labeling, curation, and compute functionality services.
Overall, the Indian government’s focus on bolstering AI research ecosystem and compute resources underscores the importance of advancing technological capabilities in the country. By prioritizing investments in AI, India aims to catch up with global leaders like China and the US, leveraging its existing talent pool to drive innovation and development in the field.
