Why in news?

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has unveiled the broad roadmap for IndiaAI Mission 2.0, marking a strategic shift from infrastructure-building to deeper research, development, and widespread adoption of artificial intelligence across sectors.

The renewed mission aims to accelerate AI innovation, strengthen indigenous R&D capabilities, and ensure meaningful diffusion of AI technologies—particularly for India’s vast MSME ecosystem. By embedding AI into small and medium enterprises, the government seeks to enhance productivity, competitiveness, and global integration.

The announcement coincides with the India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, underscoring India’s ambition to position itself as a major global AI player while aligning technology deployment with domestic economic priorities.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• IndiaAI Mission 2.0: MSME-Focused AI Stack on the Lines of UPI
• Sovereign AI Beyond Models

IndiaAI Mission 2.0: MSME-Focused AI Stack on the Lines of UPI

• India is preparing the next phase of its AI Mission with a strong focus on creating a bouquet of ready-to-use AI solutions for MSMEs.
• Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said these solutions will be hosted on a common digital platform—similar to UPI—allowing small and medium enterprises to easily access and deploy AI tools across key sectors.
• Boosting Compute Capacity and Democratizing Access
  • India will expand its AI compute infrastructure by adding 20,000 GPUs to the existing 38,000.
  • Unlike many countries where AI infrastructure is concentrated in a few corporations, India is working to ensure broad-based access to AI compute capacity.
  • Several sovereign AI models launched at the summit, he said, have outperformed many global systems on multiple evaluation parameters.
• Global Recognition and Investment Momentum
  • Citing Stanford’s ranking, Union IT Minister noted that India is now among the top three AI nations
  • He projected that over the next two years, more than $200 billion in investments could flow into the ecosystem, with venture capital commitments spanning all five layers of the AI stack—from hardware and models to applications.
  • The minister also acknowledged the overwhelming response from youth at the summit, despite logistical challenges on the opening day.
• AI and India’s IT Services Sector
  • Addressing concerns about AI’s impact on India’s IT services industry amid recent market volatility, the minister said the sector remains a key national strength.
  • He stressed the need for collaboration between government, industry, and academia to upskill the existing workforce and prepare future talent for technological transitions.
• Fair Remuneration for News Publishers
  • IT Minister also underscored the government’s view that news publishers must receive fair compensation when AI models use their publicly available content for training.
  • The government is in discussions with major AI platforms on remuneration mechanisms.
  • A DPIIT committee’s white paper has recommended a mandatory blanket licensing regime, under which AI companies would pay royalties for copyrighted material.
  • If adopted, India could become the first country to implement a statutory licensing framework with government-determined royalty rates for AI developers.

Sovereign AI Beyond Models

• Mission 2.0 expands the idea of sovereign AI beyond just building domestic models. It includes:
  • Indigenous chip development
  • Infrastructure and control systems
  • Scalable applications
• The goal is to ensure India can scale AI solutions independently, without reliance on external approvals or foreign technological gatekeepers.
• Overall, IndiaAI Mission 2.0 marks a transition from infrastructure building to scalable innovation, sovereign capability, and inclusive AI adoption, positioning India as a global AI leader.