Introduction

The Indian government has approved the INR 103.74 billion ($1.25 billion) India AI Mission Program, which aims to advance the country's AI ecosystem through measures such as financial support for deep tech AI startups and the development of open source databases for training AI models.

The Indian government has approved the INR 103.74 billion ($1.25 billion) India AI Mission Plan, which aims to advance the country's AI ecosystem through measures such as financial support for deep tech AI startups and development of open source databases for training AI models.

About Rs 45 billion ($543 million) of the total investment will be used to build computer infrastructure, while Rs 20 billion ($241 million) will be used to fund promising startups. These investments will be made over a period of five years.

The press release said, "It will drive responsible, inclusive growth of India's AI ecosystem by democratizing access to computing, improving data quality, developing indigenous AI capabilities, attracting top AI talent, fostering industry collaborations, providing startup venture capital, securing socially impactful AI projects and supporting ethical AI. "

The mission will be implemented by the 'IndiaAI' Independent Business Division (IBD) of Digital India Corporation (DIC).

A key part of the program is to develop computing power by setting up over 10,000 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. In addition, the government will create a marketplace to provide AI-as-a-service and pre-trained models to developers and researchers.

An AI dataset platform will also be part of the program to streamline the use of non-personal data by different stakeholders in the country. It will be a one-stop store for accessing non-personal data.

In addition, the government will also set up the India AI Innovation Center to "develop indigenous large-scale multi-modal models (lmm) and domain-specific base models in key areas." Another focus will be on developing AI skills in the country's tier-2 and tier-3 cities.

Meanwhile, the India AI Application Development Program will look to create AI applications for key sectors. The program will focus on developing/scaling/facilitating the adoption of impactful AI solutions that have the potential to catalyze large-scale socio-economic transformation.

Recognizing the need to promote responsible AI development and use, the India AI Mission will also work on developing indigenous tools and frameworks.

According to a recent report by the Boston Consulting Group and the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), the AI market in India is likely to grow at a CAGR of 25-35% to reach $17 billion by 2027.

Several countries are trying to develop capabilities in the emerging AI ecosystem, but there is also a tendency for governments to try to control them. Earlier this month, the Indian government issued a proposal that would require tech companies to get permission before launching new models.