IndiaAI Mission: A Major Leap Towards AI Innovation and Tech Sovereignty

New Delhi: In a significant move towards realizing the vision of “Making AI in India” and “Making AI Work for India,” the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for the comprehensive national-level IndiaAI mission. This ambitious initiative comes with a substantial budget outlay of Rs. 10,371.92 crore.

The IndiaAI mission aims to establish a robust ecosystem that fosters AI innovation through strategic programs and collaborations across both public and private sectors. With a focus on democratizing computing access, improving data quality, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting top AI talent, fostering industry collaboration, providing startup risk capital, ensuring socially impactful AI projects, and bolstering ethical AI practices, the mission is set to drive responsible and inclusive growth in India’s AI ecosystem.

The mission will be executed by the ‘IndiaAI’ Independent Business Division (IBD) under Digital India Corporation (DIC) and encompasses several key components:

IndiaAI Compute Capacity: This pillar will build a high-end scalable AI computing ecosystem, featuring 10,000 or more Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), to meet the increasing demands of India’s expanding AI startups and research ecosystem. The initiative includes the development of an AI marketplace offering AI as a service and pre-trained models, serving as a comprehensive resource hub for AI innovators.

IndiaAI Innovation Centre: Focused on the development and deployment of indigenous Large Multimodal Models (LMMs) and domain-specific foundational models in critical sectors.

IndiaAI Datasets Platform: A unified data platform designed to streamline access to quality non-personal datasets for AI innovation, offering a one-stop solution for seamless access to non-personal datasets for Indian startups and researchers.

IndiaAI Application Development Initiative: This initiative will promote AI applications in critical sectors, addressing problem statements from Central Ministries, State Departments, and other institutions. It aims to develop, scale, and promote the adoption of impactful AI solutions for large-scale socio-economic transformation.

IndiaAI FutureSkills: Aiming to mitigate barriers to entry into AI programs, this initiative will increase the availability of AI courses at the undergraduate, master’s, and Ph.D. levels. Additionally, Data and AI Labs will be established in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India to provide foundational-level courses.

IndiaAI Startup Financing: Conceptualized to support and accelerate deep-tech AI startups by providing streamlined access to funding for futuristic AI projects.

Safe & Trusted AI: Enabling the responsible development, deployment, and adoption of AI, this pillar will implement Responsible AI projects, including the development of indigenous tools and frameworks, self-assessment checklists, and other guidelines and governance frameworks.

The approved IndiaAI Mission is poised to drive innovation, build domestic capacities, ensure tech sovereignty, and create highly skilled employment opportunities, contributing to India’s global competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence. It marks a significant step towards showcasing how transformative technology can be harnessed for social good on a global scale.