Govt to acquire 10K GPUs in next two-three months for country’s AI Mission

The government is set to acquire 10,000 GPUs (graphics processing units) in the next two to three months through a public-private partnership as part of its India AI Mission, said Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday.

Speaking at the Global India AI Summit in Delhi, Vaishnaw also outlined plans for developing artificial intelligence (AI) accessible to all, modelled after the successful Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

“We will be investing in an AI computing infrastructure of 10,000 or more GPUs. Again, it will be an approach of public-private partnership, so that the efficiencies of industry can be harnessed for this bigger cause. We’ll be creating AI innovation centers,” said Vaishnaw.

Earlier this year, the Union Cabinet approved the Rs 10,000 crore India AI Mission ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Vaishnaw emphasised that India’s approach to AI will mirror its successful Digital Public Infrastructure model. While talking about the digital public infrastructure (DPI), the minister mentioned that DPI is a classic case where no single payment provider, and no single service provider has a monopoly over the service. “The government invests in the platform and everybody becomes a part of that and the same approach we are going to adopt in AI also,” said Vaishnaw.

Vaishnaw also mentioned that the government is also coming up with regulation and legislation for artificial intelligence. He said regulation for AI will need global coordination between like-minded countries, Vaishnaw, and the countries attending the Global AI Summit will deliberate on various aspects of AI regulation over the next two days, Vaishnaw said. “In India, we have understood that for many of the problems we face, AI can be a very big tool to solve problems. Simultaneously, we need to contain the risks,” said Vaishnaw.

The event saw the participation of Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) experts, delegates, industry and startup veterans, AI practitioners, academicians, students, and officials from Central and State Governments. Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Electronic and Information Technology, mentioned that India stands ready at the forefront of global AI innovation.

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