Meity proposes Rs 10,000 crore for India AI Programme

The Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) is set to seek cabinet approval for the ambitious India Artificial Intelligence (AI) programme, involving the establishment of Graphics Processing Unit-based servers through a public-private partnership with a budget exceeding Rs 10,000 crore, as announced by Minister of Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Government-formed working groups on AI have recommended the creation of a three-tier compute infrastructure, incorporating 24,500 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). The minister confirmed the programme’s substantial worth, stating, “The India AI programme, valued over Rs 10,000 crore, will be presented to the cabinet for approval.” He shared these insights on the sidelines of the inauguration of Synopsys, a semiconductor-focused software company.

The proposed AI programme is designed as a public-private partnership, leveraging computer infrastructure capacity in both private data centers and those managed by the public firm Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). The increased demand for GPU-based servers is driven by their ability to process data at a higher speed compared to CPU-based servers.

Acknowledging that the US and China at present, lead in computing infrastructure for AI development, Chandrasekhar highlighted the importance of India’s AI programme. He emphasised that the initiative would be a significant step toward enhancing the country’s computing capabilities.

The AI working groups’ recommendations include the establishment of best-in-class AI compute infrastructure at five locations, boasting 3,000 AI Petaflops computing power — 15 times more than the present highest capacity. Additionally, the groups propose setting up an Inference Farm (2,500 AI PF) and Edge Compute (500 AI PF) systems.

India at present, lags in the number of supercomputers compared to the US and China. The AI programme aims to bridge this gap by deploying advanced computing infrastructure at strategic locations. NVIDIA holds a dominant market share in the GPU market, with an estimated 88 per cent, contributing to a global demand that has resulted in a 12-18 month lag in GPU deliveries.

The government has already invested Rs 1,218.14 crore over the past eight years to establish a 24 PetaFlops compute capacity under the National Supercomputing Mission. The proposed India AI programme aligns with the nation’s efforts to strengthen its position in the global AI landscape.