India Nears Finalization of Homegrown AI Models Under IndiaAI Mission

First batch of Indian foundational models likely to be finalised in two weeks: IndiaAI Mission CEO

While AI sees funding in India too, what's needed is to accelerate the pace at which we spend this money, said Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission at the Startup Mahakumbh. This requires systems in which decisions are easier to take and trust-based.The government is likely to finalise the first set of proposals for building government-funded Indian foundational models under the IndiaAI Mission within two weeks, said Abhishek Singh, CEO, IndiaAI Mission, on Friday. So far, about 200 applications have been received after the government called for proposals on January 30, he said. "There are a lot of expectations around models - (people say that) China has got DeepSeek, when will India have its own AI model?" Singh said. He was speaking at the Startup Mahakumbh in the national capital. Further, India needs to augment the amount of funding that goes into research by many times more, Singh said, noting that India's allocation towards this is about 0.5% of the GDP while China and US pour in about 3%. While AI sees funding in India too, what's needed is to accelerate the pace at which we spend this money, Singh said. This requires systems in which decisions are easier to take and trust-based. "I would actually want several Y Combinators to come up in India," he said, adding that the pace of investments in places like Silicon Valley are far quicker. India also needs to strengthen the partnership between academic institutions and startups too, he said, adding that aside from the government, investments by high-net worth individuals would also unlock value in this space. The government is working with accelerators and incubators to support AI startups, Singh said. "The world is looking at India providing leadership in the AI story that is unfolding," he said. "We have shown what digital public infrastructure can do, and there's a lot of expectations (with AI as well) especially with the talent that we have in the digital space." Singh said that the power of AI extends not only to generating images and poetry but in boosting productivity and solving real-world problems for India around disability and inclusion, agriculture, health, and more. He noted that Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, tweeting about India recently indicates that the ChatGPT-maker sees India as a market. When building its own AI, India would need a voice-based LLM in order to reach the masses, Singh said. He noted that there are efforts to improve capacity by the governments and efforts to build applications by the industry but the challenge is in scaling up from pilots.

Evaluation of AI-large language model applications in final stage: Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

The evaluation of AI-large language model applications is in the final stage, and over the next few weeks, the government will shortlist entities that will receive funding under the India AI Mission, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday. Vaishnaw was speaking at an event to inaugurate the Vinod Dham Centre of Excellence for semiconductors and microelectronics at Delhi Technological University (DTU). "The evaluation of the AI LLM (Large Language Model) applications is in its final stage. Within the next few weeks, we should be able to award the first few LLM model teams, who will then start getting the funding under the AI mission," Vaishnaw said. The minister in February announced that India will have its own AI platform in the next 18 months, for which the government had invited proposals. It has received 67 applications for the project. Now, industries have started creating AI applications, and many of them have been recognised by the AI mission, he added. "As you know, after the first 14,000 graphics processing units (GPUs) that we got as a part of the AI mission, the empanelment process for the second tranche is on, and we are getting equally good response. This means our startup community and AI researchers will get a very large GPU computing facility in the coming days," the minister said. The Centre of Excellence is named after renowned technologist and DTU alumnus Vinod Dham, popularly known as the 'Father of the Pentium Chip', the centre represents a major stride in India's mission to become a global hub for semiconductor innovation and manufacturing, DTU in a statement said. The inauguration ceremony was also attended by Padma Bhushan awardee Vinod Dham, along with DTU Vice Chancellor Prateek Sharma and other dignitaries. Sharma also announced plans to launch joint degree programmes with international universities, including Purdue University, and said that DTU's Centres of Excellence are committed to solving societal challenges through technological solutions.

India to Get AI LLM Models Soon: Report

The Indian government is in the final stages of evaluating the AI large language models (LLM). India doesn't want to get left behind in the AI (artificial intelliengece) race globally. While the United States (US) and China have made the most major breakthroughs in the world of AI, India wants to catch up fast. The Indian government is in the final stages of evaluating the AI large language models (LLM). Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that very soon, the government will start awarding the first few LLMs and then these LLMs will start getting funding under the AI Mission. Read More - Infinix to Launch a New Phone in India under Rs 20000 India wants its own foundational AI LLM model. This is an expensive affair, and the government is ready to fund the initiative. For the AI Mission, around Rs 10,000 crores were allocated last year. The government wants to host an open-source LLM model like how some other countries have managed to do. According to an ANI report, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on Monday said, "A large number of industries have started creating AI applications and many of them have been recognised by the AI mission." He further added, "We see huge adoption of AI technology by industries. My interaction with education, healthcare and industrial organisations shows that people are adapting AI in a very big way for multiple uses. So that's a very positive thing, and that also means we will be able to get the most productive advantage out of this AI revolution." Read More - OnePlus 13T to Feature a New Shortcut Key, Flat Display One of the key milestone under the AI Mission for the government is to build a high-end common computing facility equipped with 18,693 Graphics Processing Units (GPUs). This would make it one of the most extensive AI compute infrastructures globally. Vaishnaw said, "After the first 14000 GPUs that we got as a part of the AI mission, the empanelment process for the second tranch is on and we are getting equally good response for the second tranch also which means that our startup community, our AI researchers will get a very large GPU compute facility in coming days."

Proposals For Building AI Models To Be Finalised In 2 Weeks

Calling for strengthening partnerships between institutions and startups, Singh said that the Centre is working with accelerators and incubators to support AI startups Electronics and information technology ministry (MeitY) additional secretary Abhishek Singh said that the Centre plans to finalise the "first set" of proposals for building indigenous foundational AI models in the next two weeks. As per Economic Times, Singh also said that the government has received more than 200 proposals from companies looking to build homegrown large language models (LLMs). This follows the Centre, in January, floating a proposal to build such an AI model. "There are a lot of expectations around models - (people say that) China has got DeepSeek, when will India have its own AI model?" he was quoted as saying at the Startup Mahakumbh in New Delhi. Adding further, he said that India would need a voice-based LLM in order to reach the masses. Singh, who is also the CEO of IndiaAI Mission, also batted for increasing funding for research projects. Noting that China and the US pump 3% of their GDP towards research and development, Singh rued that the corresponding number for India stands at just 0.5% of the GDP. The senior government official also noted that it is important to accelerate the pace of investments into Indian AI startups. Calling for building systems where decisions are easier to make and trust-based, Singh said, "I would actually want several Y Combinators to come up in India." The IndiaAI Mission CEO also emphasised the importance of strengthening partnerships between academic institutions and startups, adding that the government is working with accelerators and incubators to support AI startups. The Centre's AI Push The comments come at a time when the government has pulled all stops to spur the adoption of AI in the country and accelerate the development of AI-centric offerings. Last month, the government launched AIKosha, IndiaAI Compute Portal, an accelerator programme to incubate homegrown AI startups, and other offerings to foster innovation. Besides, the government is also working on acquiring 18,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) to offer AI computing to startups, researchers, students and academicians. Meanwhile, the growing demand for business and customer-centric use cases has also spawned the rise of AI startups in the country. India is home to more than 200 GenAI startups that raised more than $1.2 Bn in funding between 2020 and 2024. Overall, the Indian AI ecosystem is projected to become a $17 Bn market opportunity by 2030.

IndiaAI Mission In Final Leg Of Evaluating LLM Applications For Funding: Ashwini Vaishnaw

The INR 10,372 Cr IndiaAI Mission aims to create a comprehensive AI ecosystem through multiple initiatives including computing capacity, innovation centers, and datasets platform IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has reportedly said that the evaluation of AI Large Language Model (LLM) applications is in the final leg and soon the government will shortlist entities that will secure funding under the INR 10,037 Cr IndiaAI Mission. As per news agency PTI, Vaishnaw said, "The evaluation of the AI LLM applications is in its final stage. Within the next few weeks, we should be able to award the first few LLM model teams, who will then start getting the funding under the AI mission." The minister's comment comes days after electronics and information technology ministry (MeitY) additional secretary Abhishek Singh reportedly said that the Centre is planning to finalise the "first set" of proposals for building indigenous foundational AI models soon. Prior to that, in January, Vaishnaw said that India is planning to build its own domestic LLM as part of the IndiaAI Mission. The government has also selected 10 companies that will supply 18,693 graphics processing units or GPUs -- high end chips needed to develop machine learning tools that can go into developing a foundational model. An ET report said that the IndiaAI Mission received around 120 applications to build AI foundation models in the second round of bidding, which closed on March 15. Approved in March last year, the IndiaAI Mission, with an allocation of INR 10,372 Cr over the course of next five years, aims to create an AI ecosystem, offering supercomputing capabilities comprising over 10,000 GPUs to various stakeholders. It covers initiatives such as IndiaAI Compute Capacity, IndiaAI Innovation Centre (IAIC), IndiaAI Datasets Platform, IndiaAI Application Development Initiative, IndiaAI FutureSkills, IndiaAI Startup Financing, and Safe & Trusted AI. This comes at the heart of the government aggressively pushing for AI adoption in the country and ramping up AI-centric offerings Last month, the government launched AIKosha, IndiaAI Compute Portal, an accelerator programme to incubate homegrown AI startups, and other offerings to foster innovation. Additionally, the Centre is also working on acquiring 18,000 graphic processing units (GPUs) to offer AI computing to startups, researchers, students and academicians. India is home to more than 200 GenAI startups that raised more than $1.2 Bn in funding between 2020 and 2024. Overall, the Indian AI ecosystem is projected to become a $17 Bn market opportunity by 2030.