The Union Cabinet, under the vision of ‘Making AI in India’ and ‘Making AI Work for India,’ approves the India Artificial Intelligence mission with a budget of ₹10,371.92 crore. Led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the mission aims to establish a comprehensive ecosystem to catalyze AI innovation through strategic programs and partnerships across public and private sectors.
Driving AI Innovation and Collaboration
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal highlights the mission’s objective to develop a robust AI ecosystem, emphasizing widespread AI adoption, enhanced opportunities for innovators, and skill development. Over 10,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) will be procured through public-private partnerships to aid in building a high-end AI computing ecosystem, facilitating the design of an AI marketplace.
Components of the India Artificial Intelligence Mission
The mission, to be implemented by the ‘IndiaAI’ Independent Business Division (IBD) under Digital India Corporation (DIC), comprises various components including IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre, IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI. These components aim to democratize computing access, develop indigenous AI capabilities, promote AI applications in critical sectors, and ensure responsible AI development and deployment.
The IndiaAI Mission is poised to drive responsible, inclusive growth of India’s AI ecosystem, creating highly skilled employment opportunities and enhancing India’s global competitiveness in the field of artificial intelligence.
Top 7 Highlights:
- Compute Capacity: The AI Mission will establish a scalable computing ecosystem with over 10,000 GPUs, fostering innovation through a public-private partnership model. Additionally, an AI marketplace will offer pre-trained models and services to innovators, boosting accessibility and collaboration in the AI landscape.
- Innovation Centre: Tasked with developing and deploying large multimodal models (LMM) and domain-specific foundational models, the Innovation Centre will drive indigenous AI capabilities in critical sectors, fostering homegrown innovation and technological advancement.
- Datasets Platform: Streamlining access to non-personal datasets for AI innovation, a unified data platform will be developed, providing seamless access to startups and researchers. This initiative aims to enhance data quality and accessibility, fueling AI-driven innovation across various domains.
- Application Development Initiative: By addressing problem statements sourced from governmental bodies and institutions, the Initiative will promote AI applications in critical sectors. This effort will drive the adoption of impactful AI solutions, catalyzing socio-economic transformation and addressing pressing challenges.
- FutureSkills: Expanding AI education accessibility, the FutureSkills program will offer courses in undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs. Additionally, data and AI laboratories will be established across Tier 2 and 3 cities, democratizing AI education and fostering talent development nationwide.
- Startup Financing: The AI Mission will support deep-tech AI startups by providing streamlined access to funding. This initiative aims to accelerate the growth of AI startups, fostering innovation and entrepreneurship in the AI ecosystem.
- Safe and Trusted AI: Ensuring responsible development and adoption of AI, the Safe and Trusted AI pillar will implement frameworks and guidelines. This effort aims to mitigate risks associated with AI deployment, fostering trust and confidence in AI technologies while promoting ethical AI practices.
