India is accelerating its artificial intelligence (AI) development, with the government aiming to build a domestic LLM within 10 months as part of the INR103.7 billion (approx. US$1.2 billion) IndiaAI Mission.
According to Bloomberg, India Today, and the Indian Express, India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the foundational framework has been completed, and the focus is now on creating AI models tailored to India's linguistic and cultural needs. The initiative includes 18 selected AI projects in key sectors, such as agriculture and climate change, which will receive support through computing infrastructure, data, and funding.
Additionally, the government has identified 10 companies to supply 18,693 GPUs. The government is also working with six developers to build a foundational model within 4-8 months and expects a world-class AI model by the end of the year.
To further support innovation, a common compute facility will soon be launched, offering subsidized access to GPUs, with higher-end units costing Rs 150 per hour and lower-end ones at INR115.85 per hour. Vaishnaw emphasized that India's AI models will be globally competitive, leveraging the country's rapidly expanding computing power to rival leading international AI developments.