NEW DELHI, Mar 6: Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) will be accessible on the IndiaAI compute portal for an incredibly low rate of Rs 67 per hour.
The Minister for Electronics and IT, marking the first anniversary of the IndiaAI mission, introduced several initiatives, including the IndiaAI compute portal and the AIKosha dataset platform, aimed at democratizing access to AI technology and fostering innovation.
The IndiaAI compute portal will offer over 18,000 GPUs, cloud storage, and various AI services to students, startups, researchers, academia, and government departments.
“We now have a common compute facility with 14,000 GPUs, surpassing our initial target of 10,000. In addition, 4,000 more GPUs are expected to be added soon, with even more on the way in the upcoming quarters,” Vaishnaw stated.
He highlighted the historically low usage cost of Rs 67 per hour as a significant benefit for startups, application developers, researchers, and students.
Referring to India’s moon mission, the minister noted that it was achieved at a fraction of the cost compared to other countries’ missions, a strategy that will similarly be applied to developing India’s own foundational AI model, which will be constructed at a considerably lower expense.
“We are making excellent progress in preparing for India’s foundational model, with 67 applications submitted, including 22 specifically for Large Language Models (LLMs),” he added, emphasizing the government’s extensive consultations with experts to develop indigenous chipsets that will significantly shape the country’s technological landscape.
Within the next 3-4 years, India aims to produce its own GPUs that will compete globally, positioning the nation among the top five technology powers worldwide, asserted the minister.
GPUs available on the platform include AMD 300X, AMD 325X, NVIDIA H200, NVIDIA H100, AWS Trainium and Inferentia, and NVIDIA GeForce, among others.
Secretary of MeitY, S. Krishnan, stated that the launch of the compute portal will revolutionize AI implementation nationwide, noting that about 45 percent of the India AI Mission’s funding is allocated to this initiative.
He added that AI is a crucial catalyst for achieving the 2047 Viksit Bharat vision.
Additionally, the ministry unveiled AIKosha, a comprehensive dataset platform that provides compute resources, datasets, tools, and a secure environment for researchers, entrepreneurs, and startups to create AI applications and solutions. High-quality datasets from various ministries will be made available to facilitate the development of India-specific AI models.
In March of last year, the cabinet approved the IndiaAI mission with a substantial budget of Rs 10,371.92 crore, aimed at establishing a robust ecosystem to promote AI innovation through public-private partnerships, overseen by the ‘IndiaAI’ Independent Business Division (IBD) under the Digital India Corporation (DIC).
Vaishnaw further announced the establishment of 27 India AI data labs in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, alongside efforts to enhance the skills of government officials through a plethora of training courses, with over a million civil servants registered—about 950,000 of whom have completed various courses.
Foundational courses in data and AI for students in grades 10 and 12 are being developed, ensuring future generations are equipped for today’s technological demands. Vaishnaw also mentioned that over 150 universities will receive cutting-edge foundational tools by next year for AI research.
In the upcoming five years, India is set to emerge as a key player in the deep-tech sector. IndiaAI also launched the Competency Framework for AI, tailored for public sector officials, which outlines structured learning paths and benchmarks to prepare them to leverage AI effectively.
The framework aims to cultivate a foundational understanding of AI, identify integration opportunities, promote informed policymaking, and develop targeted training programs.
The minister recognized 30 startups from various sectors that have been shortlisted for the next stage of the IndiaAI Innovation Challenge and awarded students participating under the India AI Fellowship program. (PTI)
