Global IndiaAI Summit: Ashwini Vaishnaw says India to roll out Rs 10,000 crore plan to procure AI GPUs in 2-3 months

While addressing the inaugural session of the Global IndiaAI Summit 2024 in New Delhi, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “We will procure 10,000 or more graphics processing units (GPUs) under a public-private partnership so that the efficiencies of the industry can be harnessed for a bigger cause."

"We will also have an AI innovation centre, high quality data sets which can add more value to the efforts of startups, and an application development initiative where apps relevant to our socio-economic problems can be developed. We will have a huge focus on skill development,” Vaishnaw added.

According to reports, the IndiaAI Mission was approved by the previous Union Cabinet earlier in 2024, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The approval, which is still a blueprint, could spur investments in this sector, with private companies setting up data centres in India, and allowing startups access so they can test and build their generative AI models, as per reports.

The Union IT Minister said there is a general understanding that modern technology is becoming expensive and “in many geographies, it gets limited in the hands of the few — big tech, government controlled”.

Citing the example of the country's digital public infrastructure work, Vaishnaw added that technology should be accessible to everyone.

Ashwini Vaishnaw noted the various interventions that have taken place globally to limit the problems posed by AI systems, including the AI Act passed in the European Union (EU) and the executive order in the United States.

Calling these measures “very relevant for all of us", he said, “We are all facing the same challenges, the global south is looking at universal support."

“In the recent Lok Sabha elections we saw the threat of misinformation,  disinformation which was multiplied with the power of AI," Vaishnaw said. "The entire world has experienced this and is feeling the same threats."