Why in the News?

In the Union Budget 2024, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has been allocated Rs 551 crore for the IndiaAI Mission for 2024-25.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• About IndiaAI Mission (Objective, Key Pillars of the Mission, Global AI Summit, etc.)
• News Summary

About IndiaAI Mission:

• The IndiaAI Mission, launched by the Government of India, is an initiative aimed at harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to drive economic growth, improve governance, and enhance the quality of life for citizens.
• This mission aims to position India as a global leader in AI innovation and adoption.

Key Pillars of IndiaAI Mission:

• IndiaAI Compute Capacity:Establishing a scalable AI computing ecosystem with over 10,000 GPUs through public-private partnerships (PPP).
  • An AI marketplace will provide AI as a service and pre-trained model, acting as a central hub for essential AI resources.
• IndiaAI Innovation Centre:Focused on developing and deploying indigenous large multimodal models (LMMs) and domain-specific foundational models.
  • These models will cater to the unique needs of India's diverse industries and sectors.
• IndiaAI Datasets Platform:Streamlining access to high-quality non-personal datasets for AI innovation.
  • A unified data platform will provide seamless access for Indian startups and researchers, aiding in the development of robust AI models.
• IndiaAI Application Development Initiative:Promoting AI applications in critical sectors by addressing problem statements from Central Ministries, State Departments, and other institutions.
  • This initiative focuses on developing impactful AI solutions for large-scale socio-economic transformation.
• IndiaAI Future Skills:Reducing barriers to AI education by increasing AI courses at various academic levels and establishing Data and AI Labs in Tier 2 and 3 cities.
  • This ensures a steady pipeline of skilled AI professionals nationwide.
• IndiaAI Startup Financing:Supporting deep-tech AI startups with streamlined access to funding.
  • By providing risk capital and financial support, the mission aims to nurture a vibrant ecosystem of AI startups driving technological advancements and economic growth.
• Safe & Trusted AI:Ensuring responsible AI development through implementing Responsible AI projects, developing indigenous tools and frameworks, and establishing guidelines for ethical, transparent, and trustworthy AI technologies.

Global IndiaAI Summit 2024:

• In July 2024, Union government organized Global IndiaAI Summit in New Delhi.
• Aim of the summit was to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange, underscoring India’s dedication to the ethical and inclusive growth of AI technologies.
• The summit provided a platform for leading international AI experts from science, industry, civil society, governments, international organizations, and academia to share insights on key AI issues and challenges.

IndiaAI Mission and Budget 2024:

• The IT Ministry is set to release a tender for procuring 300 to 500 graphics processing units (GPUs) to enhance domestic computing capacity for AI system development.
• This follows the first budgetary allocation of Rs 551 crore for the ambitious IndiaAI Mission in the Union Budget 2024-25.
• The IndiaAI Mission, approved by the Union Cabinet in March with a budget of Rs 10,372 crore, aims to establish over 10,000 GPUs and develop AI models with more than 100 billion parameters, focusing on sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and governance.
  • Of India’s Rs 10,370 crore plan, the implementation of computing infrastructure will be done through a PPP model with 50 per cent viability gap funding.
  • If the compute prices come down, the private entity will have to add more compute capacity within the same budgeted amount to meet increased demand.
  • Of the total outlay, Rs 4,564 crore has been earmarked for building computing infrastructure.
  • The Cabinet has approved the financing by the government of deeptech startups at various levels of growth. Of the total outlay, roughly Rs 2,000 crore has been earmarked towards this.
• The Ministry's moderated initial approach will involve AI compute, skilling, and dataset applications.
  • Recognizing the high costs and challenges smaller businesses face in accessing computing capacity, the government plans to support GPU procurement to assist Indian startups.
  • India's strategy mirrors that of the European Union, which has introduced rules to help startups access necessary hardware for AI development.
• The IndiaAI Mission's implementation will follow a public-private partnership model, with 50% viability gap funding.
• Additionally, the mission will establish the IndiaAI Datasets Platform to host high-quality AI-ready datasets, crucial for building large language models.